Killer: A Dark College Romance (Hillcrest University Book 5)

by Candace Wondrak

  I mean, a good fucking always got your mind off things, didn’t it? I was ninety-nine percent sure it did. It sure seemed to work for Kelsey that night.

  Hard to imagine that night was over a month ago, now. Almost a month and a half. I really should be focusing on studying for my exams before Christmas, now that I could feel safe on campus. Had to pass those, definitely.

  Studying, though, was the last thing on my mind as I looked between the two brothers. Declan and Will. They had similar features, anyone could totally tell they were related, that they were brothers, but I noticed the subtle differences between the two.

  Declan’s stare was darker, obviously, but it was also warmer, too. The expression Declan wore was one of longing, one that told me he cared for me more than I could ever know. His lips were slightly parted, as if he wanted to say something, but was stopping himself. He leaned slightly forward, sitting on the other side of his brother, though his focus was solely on me.

  Will, on the other hand…his stare held traces of longing, but it also held a more serious look. A maturity that I recognized, almost like Will had forced himself to grow up fast to take care of his little brother. Neither brother was little any longer, but that was beside the point. There was still something mysterious about him, something I couldn’t peg down.

  Eh, maybe I was just worried that I’d get hurt again. That, even though these two brothers seemed relatively sane, they each hid their own sprinkle of insanity. Hell, maybe I was setting myself up for failure when it came to these two, to all of my Hillcrest guys.

  To that, I had two words to say: oh, well.

  Fuck it would also work, too.

  “So,” I spoke, glancing at the TV. “We going to cuddle and watch whatever this show is all night, or are we going to do something more fun? Not that cuddling with either of you is boring—it’s just, tonight, I want something a bit…hotter.”

  That was as straightforward as I could be without drawing diagrams, and I was not in the mood to draw any crude stick figures.

  Declan’s cheeks flared, heating up to that adorable pink color that I loved so much. If I was honest, some of the things I said, I said on purpose to get his cheeks to flush. It was so easy to embarrass him—odd, considering how masterful that tongue of his was.

  God, I could really go for that tongue right now.

  “Tell you guys what,” I said, getting up. It took everything in me to pretend like tonight wasn’t the turning point in my life, but by God, I was going to have fun tonight whether it killed me.

  Yeah…probably not best to say it like that.

  “I’m going to hop in the shower. You’re free to join me, if you want.” I dragged my eyes between the two brothers, saying, “I’ll leave you to it, then.” Though I gave them a smile, inside my heart pounded a mile a minute. Tonight, my ex was going to die, and I was going to lose myself in these handsome brothers.

  You know what? I deserved this. After everything I’d been through lately, I deserved every right to relax tonight, to not focus on the fact that Travis and his brothers were probably torturing the shit out of Ray. Yep. Tonight I was going to indulge in everything I could. Call me crazy, call me a slut; I didn’t even care at this point.

  I headed to the short hallway, turning right into the bathroom. It wasn’t a huge space, but it suited its purpose. I knew eventually I’d have to go in Will’s room, and I wondered if he’d gotten it cleaned, or removed and fixed.

  The bloodstain, I meant, from when Ray stabbed him. I didn’t want to remember that horrific night, how panicked I was that Will might die, and then me being hit by a car.

  Closing the door behind me, I started to take off my clothes, trying to avoid looking at myself in the mirror. I looked exhausted, heavy bags under my eyes and splotches on my skin. I wasn’t sleeping well, wasn’t eating well. After tonight, that had to change. I had to take better care of myself.

  Once all of my clothes rested on the floor, I stepped into the tub and pulled the curtain, drawing it closed before turning on the water. I didn’t turn the fan on, my intent to get it nice and steamy in here. I liked my showers almost scalding hot, and I liked to breathe in the steam after getting out.

  As the hot water pelted my head, I angled my face towards it. The heated water wasn’t good for the color in my hair; it made it fade a lot faster. You were supposed to wash your hair with special shampoo in cool water to help the color last, but I never did. Who the hell wanted to wash their hair in cool water? Only a savage, only a freak. I might’ve been a lot of things, but I was not a person who could stand a cool shower, even if it was just for the hair.

  I couldn’t say how much time passed, but it was a while before I heard the bathroom door open. It took every bit of self-control in my bones to not peek around the curtain and see who it was. Will, or Declan?

  “Will gave me some clothes for you to wear,” Declan’s voice spoke above the water. “If we’re spending the night.”

  I ran my fingers through my hair, asking aloud, “Are we?”

  “I figured we would.” I heard Declan start to shrug off his clothes, and it was but a moment more before he pulled the curtain aside to step into the shower with me. “If it would make you happy,” he added, unafraid to meet my eyes, even while knowing what staying here would entail.

  Sex. It would definitely entail sex.

  My eyes raked over his body, much like how his gaze currently did to mine. I stood under the showerhead, so my body was wet. His wasn’t, yet. His was lean and slender, his height making him nearly a foot taller than me. Will had a few inches on him height-wise, but Declan was jaw-droppingly cute regardless.

  What girl could look at him, especially while naked, and not feel something heating up inside? Even if this water turned ice-cold, there would be steam in here, coming from me.

  I eventually spotted his dick, which currently was semi-erect and growing harder by the second. Apparently I wasn’t the only one with sex on the brain. Now that we’d crossed that line with each other, it was hard to think of anything but sex. Or maybe we were just two horny people, letting our inner lust and hormones take control of our bodies. Whatever the reason, I didn’t care. I adored this one, and he knew it.

  “Are you happy?” I asked, taking a step towards him. It meant leaving the nice, warm waterfall of water from the showerhead, but I was immediately warmed up the moment my chest leaned against his.

  “I’m happy every time I’m with you,” Declan murmured, drawing a hand up along my arm, slowly trailing it to my collarbone, eliciting a shiver from me, even though the water was hot on my back. “And when I’m not with you, I can’t stop thinking about you. This might sound strange, but it’s hard for me to remember what my life was like without you.”

  The words made me happy, and I laid a flat palm against his chest, feeling his pectorals tense under me. “I can say the same,” I told him, meaning it. My high school life felt like it was so far in the past, it was unreal. I felt like I was a different person now than I was then, which said a lot. These guys had somehow changed me.

  I hoped, I prayed it was for the better.

  Declan’s hand found my chin, and he tilted my head back. His lips met mine, and for those few moments, there was nothing else. Nothing else but the feel of his warm, wet lips on mine, his hard body leaning into mine, the water running down my spine. So many sensations that made me want to lose it, and I did. I lost myself in Declan, even when I felt the risen, scarred skin on his wrist graze my cheek.

  The kiss ended when we both panted for breath, and I turned my head, spotting a bar of soap resting nearby, on a corner shelf attached to the tub. I went for it, handing it to Declan. “Suds me up,” I said, a command, an order. I wanted those hands all over me, forcing me to forget what Travis and his brothers were doing.

  Declan took the bar of soap, moving under the water to get his hands nice and soapy, and then my train of thought vanished the moment he grabbed my shoulder, spun me around, and started to
massage my back.

  God…damn. Was there anything his body couldn’t do? His mouth worked wonders between my legs, and his hands…fuck, his hands could practically give me an orgasm by simply working to unknot the tense muscles in my back. It was heaven—if heaven included a long, steamy shower with a naked man.

  I let out a low moan, and I heard Declan chuckle. “What?” I asked, my eyes closed. His hands were now on my ass, gripping each cheek, kneading them, giving my ass a good massage. After that it was my sides and then returning to my back, focusing on the neck area. “Your hands are to die for.”

  “Are they?”

  “Mm-hmm. Your mouth is something special, too. You have my favorite mouth.” Oops. That was probably not something Declan wanted to hear, but it was too late to take it back now. Once it was said, there was no way to press the rewind button and stop myself from saying it.

  Declan’s hands were slow to release their hold on my neck and shoulders, spinning me around to face him. A playfulness lingered in his gaze, and dimples sat on those cheeks. “Do I?” he asked, dimples deepening.

  I nodded, biting my lower lip, which he noticed. “I also love your dimples and the way you get so red when I say something embarrassing.”

  “What can I say? You know how to make a man blush,” he muttered.

  I’d say. His dick was rock hard now, though that probably had more to do with the fact that we were both naked and in the shower than what I was telling him.

  “And you know how to make a girl wet,” I said.

  “All you have to do is get her in the shower.”

  “That’s not what I meant—”

  Declan angled his face down, his hands on my sides, wearing a serious look as he whispered, “I know.” And then he said nothing else as he spun us so that he now was pelted with the water, sunk to his knees before me, and pushed me against the wall opposite the one with the spicket. His amber eyes danced with mischievousness, his lips parting slightly. He ran his tongue over his bottom lip, locking eyes with me.

  My body automatically heated up, even though my back was flat against the wall, even though I didn’t stand in the warm water anymore. Just looking down at him, knowing what he was about to do…it riled me up, made my core clench.

  Oh, yeah. Declan held a lot of power over me, there was no denying it.

  Seriously. All those orgasms I missed out on while trying to be his friend, while keeping him at arm’s length. Stupid, stupid.

  “Sorry, I was just down here to look at this spot on the tub—” Declan started, giving me a boyish grin.

  All of my fingers but one curled into a fist, and I used my free one to point to the space between my legs. Give him a little direction, tell him where to go, although he should know how to get there well enough by now.

  “Oh, that’s what you want?”

  I nodded, biting my lip.

  Declan inched closer, and I could feel his hot breath on that sensitive skin. He pressed his lips against my inner thighs, causing my knees to tremble and feel like goo. “Is that enough?” he asked after kissing each thigh twice.

  I could not form cognitive thoughts, let alone sentences. It was a good thing all I needed to say was a single word: “No.”

  His smile did not waver as he brought his mouth to my apex, his tongue flicking out and touching me in the place I so craved him. A light, fluttery sound escaped me, and my heart instantly began to beat faster. Seriously, his tongue was like magic. I could not get enough.

  He licked along my folds, tasting me, making me want him even more. Eventually his attention turned to the nub, and he sucked on it gently, practically causing stars to erupt in my vision. You know what they said—a girl’s clit was really the way to her heart.

  You know, like they said about men and their stomachs.

  Pressure built within me, a sea of carnal lust ready to sweep me away. I ran a hand through Declan’s hair, my fingers tightening around those brown locks. My hips began to rock, as if begging, wordlessly, for more. More, more, more. That tongue, that mouth had a way with me, but I knew Declan would never leave me disappointed.

  The moment my orgasm came, I threw my head back on the wall behind me—ow—and cried out, probably loud enough for Will to hear in the living room, or any neighbors, if they were in their adjacent apartment.

  What could I say? I wasn’t a quiet one.

  Declan’s mouth left me as he said, “I love the sounds you make.”

  Though I wanted to be selfish and collected another dozen or so orgasms—moderation, who needed it—I helped Declan to his feet, leaning into him as I threw my arms around his neck. My legs were still a little gooey from that orgasm, but hey, I had a man to keep me upright. I brought my lips to his, kissing him a bit rougher than he was used to, nibbling on his bottom lip and making him groan into my mouth.

  After the kiss, I said, “I love the sounds you make, too.” And then, to hear him make more sounds, I ran a flat hand down his chest, the water pelting us both, and guided it to the hard cock between us. The moment I gripped the base of his shaft, Declan let out another moan, and this one I felt in my very soul.

  I honestly couldn’t think of my life before Hillcrest. It was like the Ash before Hillcrest was another person, a stupid girl, and the Ash of today knew what she wanted—who she wanted, and she wouldn’t take no for an answer.

  My hand glided along his length, holding onto it tight and hard. Over and over again. As my hand worked him, I brought him down for another kiss, pushing my tongue in his mouth and running it across his. Declan’s hips started to rock a bit, and that’s when I pushed him against the nearest shower wall, just as he’d done to me, our lips never unlocking, my hand never leaving his hard dick.

  I mean, if he gave me one orgasm, I should give him one too, right? It was only fair. Plus it would only help him last longer later.

  My hand picked up speed, running along his cock with a purpose, my fingers curling around his tip each time. I only pulled my mouth off his when I knew he was close, when I peeked through half-open lids and saw that he was about to lose it. For some reason, I loved seeing Declan lose it.

  There were a lot of things I loved about Declan, actually. The list went on and on.

  When Declan came, his eyelids slammed shut and his whole body tensed. I kept up the pace as I felt sticky cum shoot out of his tip, landing on my stomach, since I stood before him. I was pretty sure he would’ve fallen over if I hadn’t put him against the wall.

  My hand was slow to fall away from his dick, and I moved directly under the water’s stream, rinsing myself off. It wasn’t that I didn’t like wearing his cum, it was…okay, it was exactly that. Plus, it’d only dry and get crusty. Yeah, it was best to wash that stuff off as soon as you could.

  The moment Declan moved closer to me, lightly pressing his lips against my shoulder, I thought, this might actually be a good night. But, deep down, I knew not everyone would be having such a good night. Luckily, with the Briggs brothers around me, that particular bastard was the last thing on my mind.

  Chapter Thirteen – Travis

  We took Ray and the cars to a warehouse my family frequented. They didn’t own it, but they did pay the owner handsomely to use it and keep his mouth shut about it. The things money could do—the list only grew the more money you had, and my family had a shit ton. That was a mathematical amount, too. A shit ton.

  When you dealt with things most people didn’t want to think about, when you handled accidental deaths and high-profile assassinations, you tended to be paid well. My family did a little bit of everything, and you learned early what was expected of you. I had no idea what my position in the family would be once I graduated Hillcrest, but whatever it was, I knew I’d do just fine.

  Ray was currently strung up in the center of the warehouse, a spotlight on him. Chains held his wrists together and over his head, tied to one of the structural beams of the place. His head was bent forward, almost unnaturally so, meaning he was still unconsc
ious. I stood near Lincoln and Markus, glaring at him, wishing he would wake up.

  Oh, we could just kill him and get rid of him, but where would the fun be in that? Ray thought he was the baddest psycho to walk these streets? He had no idea how crazy my family really was, but by the time he breathed his final breath, I’d make sure he knew.

  A rolling cart sat near us, small metal instruments laying on top of it on a rolled-out leather bag. The silver steel glinted with the light of the spotlight, the sharp edges of each instrument not looking nearly as menacing as I wished they did. They were all clean, sterilized; they looked almost new.

  My family was not one for half-assing things, especially something like this.

  Lincoln had his arms crossed, still wearing the same leather gloves he’d worn when sneaking up on Ray. Ash had done well, keeping Ray’s attention on her, getting him away from the car, and now she was with Declan and Will—I did not want to think of that, though. My own fingers tightened in gloves very similar to Lincoln’s.

  Short, smooth leather. The gloves ended just at the palm, covering anyplace that had those tiny, identifying markings. You always had to be careful when you were dealing in death.

  “How much longer until he wakes up?” I asked, glaring at Ray’s still figure. He stood on his feet, although since he was unconscious, he was sagging a bit, pulling his arms taut from the chain over his head. My heart beat rapidly in my chest, and I wanted nothing more than to end this once and for all, get this bastard out of the picture.

  This wasn’t about me killing him. This was about me inflicting pain, me letting Ray know that he’d crossed the wrong girl. This was about me making sure Ray felt every ounce of pain he possibly could before he breathed his last breath. That was a promise to myself, a promise to Ash.

  Markus stood near the cart, his hands in his pockets. He still wore his suit, the only one of us who wasn’t wearing the same black gloves. “Should be soon,” he remarked, eyeing the instruments up. I knew Markus didn’t always get his hands dirty, but when he did, he was something else entirely.