I had no idea why I felt this way about her, my assumption of how things would be between us, but somewhere deep inside, I felt this. She thought she was different from me—but I saw the rage in her eyes. The niggling emotion that somehow lived inside your head, waiting. Festering.
I saw it because it was a reflection of me.
I looked over at her from the corner of my eyes when we were in class. She was completely immersed in taking notes, the only one in the whole class to do so. Whilst everyone else was on their laptop or playing games on their phone, she took everything rather seriously. It seemed that she didn't want to lack off, but study hard.
Admiration filled me right then. Even with the money she had, she remained true to herself.
Honestly, she was the only one I’d found in the entire university to be so headstrong. We were rich and powerful because of our family's money. In her case, she drew strength from within. She never asked for anyone’s approval. Even when Nina or the others threw snarky comments at her, Tori would simply straighten her back before throwing a fist in retaliation.
It was the hottest thing ever.
Unable to resist, I leaned in close to her until my lips brushed against the tip of her ear. “How are your hickeys?”
“Disappearing.”
I didn’t like how thankful she sounded so I grabbed her by the neck, frowning. Everybody paused their typing, and fixed their eyes on us. I grinned. “Should we freshen them up?”
I tried not to wince as she elbowed me full force in the ribs.
“God, I can’t wait to shove my cock in that tight ass pussy of yours,” I murmured into her ear, taking my chances as I nipped on it. “I’ve already proven how much of a man I can be. And here’s another thing I noticed since we kissed two weeks ago, round the back of O'Malley’s. You get off on humiliation, pain, and physical abuse. You like it rough, and lucky for you, I will give you that and more.”
I felt her shifting in her seat as I continued.
“I’m going to fuck you and make you come all over my cock one day,” I whispered, telling her all the filthy things I planned to do to her. “I’m going to keep going, even when you tell me to stop. I’m going to wrap my hand around your delicate neck and won’t stop until you’re begging me, Tori.”
It seemed violence only attracted violence—something I found comfort in knowing about Tori. She got off on pain, so I was no longer willing to give it to her. Nothing would make me happier than to take all that anger out on her pretty porcelain ass. I could never do that to another girl, but I could certainly do it to her.
And we’d both come back for more.
She swatted me away as the bell rang once, and without sparing me another glance, she dashed off. She’d figured out how to skitter away and ignore me, most of the time. Heading out, I met up with Hudson and Zayn to go to the outdoor pool.
It was reserved for the swim team … unless you were me.
I needed to cool down from the scorching heat, so I decided to let my little Starlight run off for now. She still had two more classes and would then head to work afterwards. For now, she’d be going to the library where Diona usually was. Getting into the changing room, I changed and waited around in my swimming shorts as Hudson finished up on his phone. I was about to ask where Zayn was, when he barged in.
“I’m going to fuck her so hard and send photos to the son of a bitch,” he yelled as he threw his backpack onto the floor. “I swear, when I’m done, she’s not going to think of anyone else but me. Better yet, I’ll fuck her on Professor Darren’s office desk when he’s not here. Trust me, I could get the keys. I’ll make her come over and over on his desk as a big fuck you.”
“Who are we talking about?” Hudson asked.
“Diona. Jesus, do you ever listen?” I rolled my eyes before focusing back on Zayn. “What happened this time?”
“She’s been coming to the university early each day for a reason,” he sneered. “Every single fucking day.”
“And you know she’s fucking him?” Hudson slammed the locker door shut. “Or are you letting your mind roam again?”
“What else could it be?” he snapped, taking off his shirt in one swift movement. “Why else would she come here so early in the morning?”
“Last I heard, isn’t your girl,” he pointed at me and then over to Zayn, “hanging with your girl?”
“She comes in earlier than that,” Zayn retorted. “I came in early today to get this stupid-ass book before everyone else comes looking for it, and I saw her with Darren.”
“Shit,” Hudson said before jumping straight into the pool. He re-emerged and slicked his hair back. “Were they doing anything inappropriate?”
“No, because I arrived in time,” Zayn hissed.
“Just say the word, and I’ll get his ass fired and have him run out of town. Not even that, I’ll make sure he never finds a job again,” I vowed. Both Hudson and Zayn knew I always had their back, just as they did for me. A slow grin made its way to my face as my heart pounded at the thought of what I could do to this man’s career if Zayn let me. “In fact, I can make sure he disappears, if you—"
“The fuck am I looking at?”
My ears perked as I turned to see Tori and Diona. I was completely surprised to see both of them here. They usually enjoyed spending their time at the library, tucked away from everyone else until it was time to go to class. My hard-on was back in full force as I grinned over at her.
“Nothing, just a few guys enjoying a refreshing dip.” I winked. “You want to join us?”
“Are you allowed in the pool if you’re not part of the swim team?” Diona questioned, arching a brow. Her eyes darted to Zayn momentarily before glancing away. Clearly, something was going on with them. It was usually Diona chasing Zayn to reconcile but not every time. If only they got their shit together, this whole weekly fight nonsense could be behind us.
“Well, we have a special pass and you two should join us,” Zayn said. He was not happy with Diona and I had yet to question him about what was going on between them. “Don't you have someone else you’d rather see right now, anyway?”
Diona went rigid just as I continued to stare at Tori. She looked like a goddess right now, standing above me with the sun creating a halo-like effect behind her.
“Strip for me,” I challenged as I got out of the pool. I revelled in the way she gawked at me, even if it was only for a fleeting moment, before looking away again. The damage was already done. I grinned widely at her as she suddenly stared at my broad chest and then down to the front of my trunks.
Zayn then stepped forward and gestured to Diona to follow him. Tori glanced at them before scowling back at me. “I’m only here for Diona. I’m not here to gawk or swim with you.”
“That right?” I insisted. “You sure you don’t want to come for a dip?”
In fact, I was already formulating a plan in my head. With her being unable to attend class, she would have no choice but to let me take her to my house to dry her clothes before work. A predatory smile made its way to my face as I thought of how much fun it would be. Then, without another thought, I swooped for my prey. Locking one arm under her knee and the other around her back, I picked her up. She gasped, her eyes going wide.
All the guys laughed as I playfully tossed her into the deep end of the pool. She thrashed around. For someone who was usually cold-hearted, poker-faced, and angry looking, it was refreshing to see her overcome with fear. She went under and I watched in bemusement, waiting for her to resurface.
I waited some more, my heart racing. When it felt like too many seconds had passed and she never came back up, I let out a loud curse and jumped in after Tori. My heart raced as I forced my eyes open and saw her body at the bottom of the pool. My stomach churned. Grabbing her, I quickly hauled her out of the water as Hudson, Zayn, and Diona watched on in horror.
Thankfully, Tori was at least conscious as her body went into shock. She clung hard onto me, burying her head into th
e crook of my neck. Guilt wracked through me, and I held her even closer. “Shhh. Hey, it’s okay. I got you. You’re going to be okay,” I cooed gently, rubbing her back. “You’re fine. I wouldn't let you drown. Listen to me, Starlight. You’re okay.”
After she calmed down, she shuffled out of my arms. Reluctantly, I set her onto her feet so I could see her face. Again, her expression was fueled with hatred, but unlike before, it was mixed with fear. Her face was blotched, and even as I was tempted to ogle her body as her uniform clung to every inch of her, I couldn’t bring myself to do it. Not when she looked at me like that. She shoved me. “I fucking hate you!”
Without proper footing, I fell back into the water with a splash. By the time I’d resurfaced and slicked my hair back, she was already gone. No one said anything for a while until Hudson sighed loudly, shaking his head.
“You really fucked up this time, dude.”
“Big time,” Zayn murmured as Diona raced to catch up to her. “More than me at this point.”
Chapter Ten
Tori
Fear.
Two things in the world I feared more than anything else—and neither one related to death itself.
The first was opening up to another human being. Letting my walls down and allowing another person to have the ability to hurt me wasn’t something that sat well with me. For this reason, I’d never allowed another person in. That is, except Justin and Cleo, but even then, I refused to let them fully into my heart. The thought of being vulnerable was enough to send me into a panic attack.
The second? Drowning. The thought of being swallowed by a body of water with no means of escape was my personal hell. The fact I’d almost drowned twice growing up didn’t make it any better. The first time it happened, Levi didn’t know what to do and I almost died while he cried his eyes out. The second time was when I’d accidentally flushed my parents’ heroin and they’d disciplined me by dunking my head into the toilet over and over.
Being thrown into the pool brought my worst fears to life for a third time. I couldn’t stop it from happening as things went on in a blur. As I stood there dripping from head to toe, fear was soon replaced with an emotion I found comforting: anger.
As I headed into the girls’ changing room, I sensed someone following close behind me. A hand yanked me backward, and I crashed headfirst into a hard-muscular chest. I wasn’t surprised when I looked up to see Colten’s face. Even in my anger, I appreciated his beauty, although I still wanted nothing more than to punch his face.
Maybe I should.
“Fuck off,” I snarled, trying to yank myself out of his grasp. “This is the girls’ changing room.”
There wasn't a single other soul there since only the swim club could use the pool anyway.
Being Colten, he ignored what I said and tightened his grip even more until he’d practically cut all circulation off. Yet, I refused to show any sort of weakness.
“What?” he growled.
“Are you fucking deaf? I said fuck off!” I shouted. But, of course, he didn’t listen. Instead, he stared at me before taking a seat and pulling me down onto his lap as I tried to wiggle free of his death grip.
“You’re scared,” he said. Stating this fact meant that I had shown my weakness to an enemy. It seemed as if my year here, along with the money I’d receive if I graduated, became less and less appealing. “Aren’t you?”
“So?”
“You can’t swim?” he questioned. I was a little surprised he didn’t to do anything as he continued to stare at me, serious and determined.
“Mind your own fucking business,” I snapped. “Thanks for the fucking terror-inducing panic attack you gave me. Make the most of your enjoyment. It won’t happen again.”
“Shit, I didn’t know, okay?” he said, running his hand through his wet hair to slick it back before bringing it down to cage mine once more. “I didn’t know you couldn’t swim.”
“No one needed to know. Can you fuck off now?”
“Not until I know you’re okay,” he murmured, then gave me a tight bear hug. I could feel his heart beating so fast.
“Why the fuck do you care?”
“Because nothing and no one should scare you but me,” he announced almost proudly. For some reason, that caused a small chuckle to escape my lips. He tensed before pulling away, studying me as if it was the strangest sound he’d ever heard. “You laughed.”
“That’s barely considered a laugh,” I retorted as I tried to get off his lap. He snaked his arm to the back of my neck, trying to hold me in place. I snarled, raking my nails down his chest in hopes that it was painful enough for him to let go. But, instead, he looked thrilled.
I was still sitting on his lap and I felt him shifting his weight a little. Was he turned on by me, seeing as what had happened earlier? No, this wasn’t happening. At the same time, a sensation like heaven settled between my thighs. My bones were prodding into his thighs and probably making it uncomfortable for him, so I adjusted my body a little.
Then, Colten grabbed my hips and stilled them, growling into my ear.
“Stop moving, otherwise I going to have to rip your panties off and fuck you hard right here. You’re making this very difficult for me.”
I felt his hard cock digging into my backside and suddenly forgot about the fear.
“I’m not doing anything,” I confessed, feeling suddenly very warm. I swallowed hard, sensing how much my sex was throbbing for him, but then forced myself to calm down.
“I’m glad you’re feeling better,” he said, his voice dipping low at his confession while his brows knitted together almost into a frown.
The door of the changing room flew open. Diona barged in with determination in her eyes as she marched over. Oh dear Lord, it was good to see her face. Now, I had an excuse to get off Colten’s lab.
“Get your hands off Tori, or I swear I will release black voodoo magic on you.”
“Jeez, Zayn has to get better at restraining you,” Colten muttered before reluctantly letting me go. For a brief second, I couldn’t help but notice how empty and cold I felt without his arms around me, but I chose to ignore it.
He was hard as I glanced at his crotch and his eyes were piercing mine.
Diona wrapped one arm around my wrist with concern in her eyes as she ignored his comment. “Are you okay?”
“I’m okay,” I tried to reassure her, but she didn’t seem convinced. Her eyes were blotted, and her skin was red from what looked to be fresh tears. Although I didn’t know much about Diona, she had become a close acquaintance, and I found myself loving the time I spent with her.
I turned to Colten. “I’m fine now. I want to talk to Diona in private.”
He seemed reluctant to leave me alone but then he got up and strolled out. Diona seemed surprised as she turned to me, gaping. “I’ve never seen him take orders from anyone. You really do have him wrapped around your little finger.” "I don’t... Why does everyone keep saying that?” I rolled my eyes squinting at her. “Spill.”
Diona sighed as she took a seat. She seemed to have a lot on her mind, especially lately with whatever was going on with Zayn. I wasn’t the type to push for information about anything. In fact, the less I knew, the better, in my opinion. But I realised I cared about Diona’s wellbeing. “I got into a fight with Zayn.”
“Yeah, I figured that part out.” I sat next to her, crossing my legs. “Now, should I ask?”
“If I tell you something… do you promise not to tell?” She held out her pinky.
“Who would I tell?” I remarked honestly as I wrapped my pinky around hers. I’d never found gossip fun anyway.
“I slept with Professor Darren three years back.”
Well, that was definitely not what I had expected to hear as I whipped my head towards her. “The science professor?”
She nodded. “Yeah, it was a mistake. I was suffering from problems and low self-esteem issues, so I slept with him. It was a one-time thing, and we formed
a close, friendly bond with each other over our problems. But…”
“But Zayn doesn’t see it that way,” I finished filling in the blanks. He must have known and he was crazy jealous about that dude.
She nodded.
“I couldn’t tell him what we talked about because I … I don’t want him to see me any differently,” she confessed as she lowered her head. “I’m not sure if you’ve picked up on it, but I’m sleeping with Zayn. Exclusively.”
“Have you told him nothing is going on between you and Professor Darren?” I asked.
“I did,” she sighed heavily. “But Zayn doesn’t want to listen or chooses not to. I’m not sure which. It’s not like I can confide in him because he doesn’t get it. I’m sure you’ve probably heard by now that I’m adopted. With that, I feel like an imposter. Like I got lucky with most things in life and I’m not actually good enough.”
By now, tears were streaming down her face. Just as I would do with Cleo, I gently pulled her into a hug and rubbed the top of her head soothingly. “You know,” I murmured. “I’m going through the same thing right now.”
“Oh no, you don’t have to overshare if you’re not comfortable,” she insisted.
“I know,” I mused. “If there’s one thing you know about me by now, it’s that no one tells me what to do. I want to tell you this—mainly because you probably heard it from Nina anyway. But I came from an abusive family.” I slowly peeled off my shirt, pulling down my bra to show her the scars. This was something I didn’t really like sharing with anyone. The image of that day when I was only fourteen rolled through my mind. The day one of my parents’ dealers decided I was old enough for him to touch me, I fought him tooth and nail before pulling out the spiral knife my best friend, Justin, had smuggled to me, and stabbing him in the stomach. Although proud of my quick reaction, I always wished I’d gone for his dick.
Bringing down the Star: Small Town Bully Romance Book 1 Page 7