I would survive Hillcrest, I swore to myself, no matter what else it threw at me.
The hall was oddly silent as we walked down it. Travis unlocked his door, letting me in first, almost the same way he invited me in the first time—although this time I was self-aware enough to scan the room and see no chains in sight.
A pity. Guess I’d have to find them on my own.
As I dropped my bag, I noticed Travis wore none. He literally just went out for me. How he knew where I was was anyone’s guess. I knew better than to question his stalking skills; he’d found me in Stanton, so it wasn’t that far-fetched that he’d find which building and room I was in. My phone, maybe?
“So, Travis,” I spoke, shrugging off my jacket as I watched him do the same, “I’m going to need you to do exactly as I say.”
He cocked a dark brow. “Excuse me?” He was not a man who liked to take orders, but by God, he’d learn to take them from me even if I had to beat it into him. Travis took a step towards me, trying to be all dominant and dark, but I held out a hand, stopping him.
I loved it when he played master to my slave, but this wasn’t the time for that. This would be a role reversal if ever there was one.
“Take off your clothes and get on the bed,” I said, dragging out my words, overenunciating each of them, all to make sure Travis knew I was a deadly kind of serious.
Travis did nothing but stare at me. “I don’t take orders, even from you.” A challenge, one I’d meet.
“You will, if you ever want to see any of this again,” I said, gesturing to my body. I was not above threatening to withhold myself from him. It was about the only upper hand I had when it came to Travis.
“I don’t take kindly to threats,” he practically growled out, and I met his aggression with my own, popping out a hip and crossing my arms, wordlessly saying try me, bitch.
“I promise I won’t be too mean to you,” I said. “Just do what I say, and we won’t have any problems.” I’d chained Sawyer to his bed; it was high time Travis followed that lead…though there would be no pink hair dye involved this time.
Travis narrowed his eyes at me, giving me an intense look as he wriggled himself out of his shirt, flexing all those tatted-up muscles like the eye candy he truly was. The way that dragon curled around his left arm, up his shoulder…God, I could lick every inch of this man and still not have enough of him.
Next off were the shoes, the socks, and then, lastly, the pants and what was under them. The moment Travis stood there naked, I got to appreciate every sculpted inch of him like I’d never done before. When he was naked, he was usually on me like a horny rabbit—a horny rabbit with a dominant streak.
He was literally man-candy.
When he made no moves to crawl onto his bed, I pointed beside me, giving him a hard look. My look, though, wasn’t the only thing hard in the room. Something else was steadily growing, bit by bit. Travis might claim he didn’t take orders, but his body sure was growing excited.
Travis let out a grumble, sluggishly walking to his bed and climbing up, rolling onto his back, his hard cock still growing in length and size. His dark-haired head was turned in my direction, and I gave him a slow smile. Not every man would look so amazing in such a position. Travis really wasn’t like anyone else.
“Don’t move a muscle,” I told him, turning towards the dresser behind me. That day was such a blur in my mind, I couldn’t quite remember which drawer I was looking for, but eventually I found it. His drawer of goodies.
A lot of toys, but before I let my mind wander with them, I pulled out a set of chains that looked very similar to the ones I used on Sawyer. Travis must’ve taken them back. Again, that was another night that was a blur to me, with everything that happened. Will getting stabbed.
No more frantic calls from Declan. This next hour would just be me and Travis and no one else.
“You better make sure you have the key handy,” Travis started, though he said nothing more as I picked the chains up out of the drawer and moved to his side. “What is this, Ash?”
“Remember that day you chained me up in here?” I asked, watching as recognition flashed across those beautiful blue eyes. Such a handsome face gazing up at me, unabashed at what he’d done to me, as if, still to this day, Travis thought he did no wrong. “It’s time I returned the favor, I think.” I grabbed the wrist closest to me, moving it over his head. I knew it was only because Travis let me—there was no way on earth I could ever force him to do anything—but still. I got a thrill out of it.
Within a few moments, his first wrist was chained up, attached to the top of his bedframe. He didn’t have another matching set for his other wrist, but I did find a set of handcuffs…which would do. They’d do nicely.
Travis let out a smirk as I straddled him, using the handcuffs to chain up his other wrist. It was a little uneven, but his arms were now held back, and he was all mine. “You’re ridiculous,” he said.
I cocked a brow, very aware of his throbbing erection; I could feel it against my ass. I couldn’t help but wonder if the one who liked to dominate also like to be dominated…or if his excitement was purely because of me, because I was the one taking charge. With Travis, you never quite knew the truth, and that’s what made him so addicting.
“Am I?” I asked. “Because from what I remember, you had me chained up here for going on a date with someone else. Am I being ridiculous, or is this just some sweet payback?” At that last question, I leaned down to his ear and whispered it directly, my lips brushing against his ear with every word.
Oh, I wasn’t above temptation. I wasn’t above toying with him. I had Travis right where I wanted him.
“From what I remember too, I managed to escape all by myself,” I spoke this as I leaned back up, setting two hands flat on his bare chest. “Tell me, Travis, do you think you’d be able to escape this if I left you to go grab a pizza?”
“Don’t you dare,” Travis growled out. He would’ve looked more frightening if his tattooed arms weren’t hoisted above his head and held there by metal. I supposed he could still escape, but he’d have to break his bedframe…
I knew better than to underestimate him.
“I’m not going to leave you,” I said, though I did get off him, leaving his naked form on the bed, his dick standing straight. If he thought we’d just fuck and then I’d let him go, he had another thing coming. I wanted to torture him a bit.
I began to rifle through his drawer again, this time paying attention to the other toys inside. All different sizes and colors, shit I never even knew existed. Travis certainly was a kinky bitch, wasn’t he?
“So,” I said, tossing him a look, “when the hell do you use all this stuff, huh?” I wasn’t stupid enough to think he went out and used it on other girls these days, but in the past? I couldn’t help but wonder how many other girls he’d been with.
Not that it was any of my business, but seeing as how he was currently at my mercy, I had nothing but time.
“Curious, are you? Why don’t you let me out and I can show you,” Travis spoke, practically purring out the words. How he could flip from being annoyed to alluring, I had no idea. He truly wore his different masks well.
I pulled out something black and strappy that had…some kind of dildo on it, along with another hole. Just…what in the world? I turned to him, my face asking the question my tongue couldn’t. I mean, here I was thinking I’d seen it all—blood, guts and gore—but really, a psycho serial killer ex was nothing compared to the treasure trove of sex toys in this man’s drawer.
“Double penetration,” Travis rattled off, his eyes narrowing on the strappy harness thing I was holding.
I found myself curious. Not once in my life had I ever wondered what that felt like…although, with all the handsome dicks around me, you’d think that thought would’ve eventually crossed my mind. Threesomes, foursomes, orgies, the like. God, we’d been pretty vanilla, hadn’t we?
“I can imagine it’s not as goo
d as the real thing though,” I said, not really knowing what the hell I was talking about at all. Might’ve had a threesome with Travis and Declan, but no double penetration. Hmm…it honestly hadn’t even occurred to me before, but now that I was faced with it, I was curious.
Did it feel good, or what?
“Depends what you want, I guess,” Travis said, still watching me, still eyeing me up, as if he was the one who had the upper hand here. “Sawyer and I sometimes took them together. Some just want every single hole full.” A pause before he said, “Put it on me, and we can see how you like it.”
A tempting offer, but my mind was still on what he said prior to that. He and Sawyer would take girls together? Shouldn’t surprise me, but what I kept getting stuck on was the why. Why was sex always some fun thing when it came to guys? Don’t get me wrong, it was fun, but I could never see myself like Kelsey or Sawyer—or even Travis, apparently—throwing it around with strangers. Call me old-fashioned.
I set the harness down, leaning on the dresser’s open drawer as I met Travis’s blue eyes. “What’s your favorite?” Oh, his dick was rock hard, and I planned on keeping it that way. Those commercials that warned to go to the hospital if men experienced erections lasting more than four hours after taking their enhancing pills? I wanted it to be kind of like that.
Terrible, I knew. Just terrible.
Travis opened his mouth to answer, because now wasn’t the time to hide anything from me, but my phone buzzed in my pocket, which I found instantly odd, because I wasn’t expecting any calls from anyone right now. I usually just texted my mom, and Kelsey…yeah, still not going there quite yet. Maybe over winter break, when we were back at home and I didn’t have multiple guys to drown myself in.
But as I pulled my phone out of my back pocket, I found it wasn’t my mom or even Kelsey calling. It was Declan.
I answered it without a second thought, meeting Travis’s annoyed eyes again and flipping him off. The dick could lay there and wait an eternity for all I cared. He’d wait an eternity, and then we’d bang it out. Simple, easy. Totally sexy.
“Declan,” I spoke into the phone, “I thought you had class now?” Yet another reason I wasn’t expecting my phone to ring.
As Declan’s frantic voice started to explain just why he was calling, I felt my heart nearly stop in my chest. The phone nearly slipped from my hand from the sweat, my chest feeling tight, almost like I couldn’t breathe.
Once Declan was done, once he told me to meet him back at the room, I hung up, slowly turning my stare to Travis, who watched me with a quiet intensity, an expression that told me he was curious, but not enough to ask outright.
Which was good, because frankly I didn’t think I could find the words to say. This life…life at Hillcrest wasn’t going to slow down. It showed no signs of taking it easy, of letting me and my guys breathe.
Oh, my God. This couldn’t be happening. Those were thoughts a regular girl would have after hearing what Declan just told me, but me? After everything I’d been through? My thoughts were far different.
Here we go again.
Chapter Twenty – Will
My backpack rested on the edge of the counter, and I was trying to refill my to-go cup with some more coffee. I hadn’t slept much last night, go figure. I went to my morning classes, which were a bitch and a half to wake up for, but I still had one afternoon one to go. One more, but I had enough time to stop back at the apartment and refill the traveling thermos. It was cool enough outside that people would assume it was something warm, anyway.
I normally wasn’t a huge coffee fan, but there were certain times in your life when you had to adapt. This was one of them.
My kitchen was a small one, but it did its job. It wasn’t half as fancy or large as the one I grew up with, but that was fine. I didn’t want to think about that house any more than I had to, didn’t want to picture Mom and Dad any more than necessity dictated. Things were complicated, and I prayed that what I did would uncomplicate it.
Yes, I might’ve made a copy of my father’s key without him knowing. Yes, I might’ve planted Sabrina’s second journal in his office and tipped off the police. Those might’ve been illegal things to have done, but I did them with a heavy heart, knowing the truth.
My father was a monster, and he had to be stopped.
I hated that man with every fiber of my being, hated that he was such a huge part of my life. I wanted nothing to do with him, to move on from this place and leave him and the Briggs family in the dust. But then, what about Declan? Where would that leave him? In my father’s web of lies? I couldn’t have that.
My to-go mug was nearly full, and I had it resting near the fridge, just in front of the knife block, which the coffee maker sat beside. I was dumping loads of sugar into it, needing the pick-me-up—and bitter coffee was so not my thing—when I heard a knock on the door.
Back immediately straightening, I froze, my fingers slowly pulling out the spoon I was using to stir the sugar into the travel mug. I rested it on the lid beside it, turning to glance over my shoulder, at the door, which remained closed, because it was locked.
It was locked, and I wasn’t expecting anyone today.
“William,” a familiar voice broke through my apartment, though it was slightly muffled by the door, “I know you’re in there. I saw your car in the parking lot.” It was the one man who shouldn’t be here, the one man who should currently be locked up for his crimes.
What the fuck was my father doing here?
My heart raced, beating too fast in my chest. I shouldn’t let him in. I knew I shouldn’t.
“I’m not leaving this spot until you open up this door,” my father growled from the other side, and I slowly closed my eyes, trying to calm myself. He must’ve gotten out, had his lawyer work his magic. I should’ve known the police wouldn’t be able to keep him forever.
My eyes landed on the knife block once they opened; those stainless-steel knives were the only form of self-defense I had in my apartment. So I did what I had to; I took one. A big one. A sharp one, one I could hide behind my back as I inched out of the kitchen and towards the door.
I knew I shouldn’t open it, but I knew my father well enough to know he would indeed not leave the spot he stood until I let him in. I then did what I had to—I unlatched the deadbolt and gave him entry to my apartment, immediately taking a few steps back as he stormed in, looking tired, angry, and completely disheveled.
My father actually looked like shit, for the first time ever. I guessed that’s what being thrown into a holding cell and booked did to you.
I returned to my spot in the kitchen, still holding onto the knife, though the countertop between us let my arm relax a bit. I did not want my father stepping closer to me. Not at all.
“What did you do, Will?” my father asked, his voice cracking. His lips looked dry, almost like they were peeling.
“What did I do?” I echoed. “I should ask the same of you, Dad.” Saying that word made me want to vomit. Calling him Dad made him out to be some loving father, when in reality he was just a monster waiting to pounce.
“I did nothing but contact my lawyer,” he growled. “You’re fortunate Ollie was available, otherwise I’d still be in that fucking precinct because of you.”
“And why am I lucky that your buddy Ollie was so quick to jump to your defense and get you out?”
“Because now I know that you’re beyond my help,” my father hissed, sending me the frown of the century. “I’ve tried for years, Will. I’ve done my best, but I cannot let you continue to meddle in things you have no business in!”
The hand with the knife hung by my side, though my fingers curled around the knife’s grip tighter. “No business? You were fucking Sabrina, Dad, or did you forget where your dick went?” Normally I didn’t talk like that, but this…my emotions were at an all-time high. How dare this fucker come into my apartment and make it out like I was the bad guy here.
My father let out an explosive
sigh, and he lifted a shaking hand to his neck, rubbing it. It was a gesture Declan had picked up on. He started to take a few steps toward my location in the kitchen, saying, “I will admit, I’ve made some mistakes, but that was one time—one. And she came to me—”
“Oh, you’re right. If she came to you, then that’s all fine! Nothing wrong with that,” I muttered, fuming. “It wasn’t like Declan was in love with her or anything, or that she was only seventeen.”
“I know it was wrong, which is why it never happened again—”
Damn right it didn’t. Sabrina had just turned seventeen, and I happened to stumble across something I shouldn’t during a weekend home—it was Declan’s birthday, go figure. Sabrina was free to stay at our house, and sometime in the middle of the night, something happened. Something so wrong I couldn’t repeat it. My father was a terrible, terrible man.
“But you framed me,” my father said, precariously close to rounding the free-standing cabinets that divided the kitchen from the living room. I moved the knife back to behind me, my other hand gripping the edge of the counter hard. “You did all of this.”
“No,” I said. “You did.” Years and years had all led up to this, and there was no way I was going to let my father talk his way out of this one.
My father now stood less than two feet in front of me, staring at me with an expression I could only think of as disappointed. “You’ve hated me for years, Will. Time and time again you’ve claimed that I was beating my own wife—” His voice broke at that, and I couldn’t take the lies anymore.
“You were beating her,” I said, the knife heavy in my hands.
“No, I wasn’t. You’re delusional, Will. I never laid a hand on your mother. I loved her. I loved her with all of my heart, and now…” My father exhaled a shaky breath, shaking his head. When his gaze met mine, there were no longer shadows dancing across his features. “How did you get her diary, son? How did Sabrina Salvatore’s diary wind up in my office?”
Killer: A Dark College Romance (Hillcrest University Book 5) Page 17