“Oh, that’s the cemetery.”
“What?” Why would a school need a cemetery?
“It started off as the Parris family plot. Once the school took over the land, some of the early alumni wanted to be buried there, and the school allowed it provided they were sufficient benefactors. Mine and Trey’s grandfathers are both buried there. That was an accident here a few years back, and some kids died. They’re buried there, too.”
“What kind of accident?” In all the internet searches I’d done about the school, I never saw anything about a fatal accident.
Quinn avoided my eyes. “I don’t really know. It was ages ago.”
I shuddered. “I can’t imagine being buried at a school. That seems really sick to me. Will you be buried there?”
“Nope. I intend to go out in a blaze of glory crashing my father’s plane into a mountain,” Quinn grinned. “There’s isn’t going to be anything left to bury.”
“That’s gross. Can we go down and look?” Something about those metal gates tugged me forward. I don’t know why. It wasn’t as if I hadn’t already seen too much of cemeteries. My mom and Dante had been cremated, both their bodies and their spirits consumed by flames. They each had a tiny plot in an inner-city cemetery – it was all I could afford. But being buried on the edge of a cliff facing the rolling surf, it seemed different somehow. I wanted to see, to understand.
“What are you, morbid or something? We’re not going down there.” Quinn wrapped his arm around my shoulders again, his fingers hanging dangerously close to my breast. My body gave in to the heat of his touch, sinking back into the water, forgetting all about the cemetery in the haze of his emerald eyes.
“Why not?” The words came out in a whisper.
“Because I had something different in mind.” Quinn trailed a finger along my cheek, stopping for just a moment over my lips. His touch left a trail of fire against my skin.
I gulped. “Quinn, maybe we should—”
Quinn’s lips were on mine, hot and needy, tearing my next words and tossing them to the breeze. His heat melted something in me, something that had been cold and frozen for too long. I melted against him, skin on skin. My hands gripped his shoulders, relying on his taut muscles to hold me upright because my whole body had turned to jelly. Quinn parted my lips, and his tongue glanced over mine, and the fire within me ate away at my insides until I was nothing but warm lips and tongue and electric pulses and singed flesh.
Is this really happening? I pressed my hand to Quinn’s chest and there was his heart, beating a steady, languid rhythm.
My first kiss.
Was this what kissing felt like? Like jumping off a cliff without a parachute, like falling and never reaching the ground, like standing up really fast and feeling all the blood rush from my head? Or was that just Quinn, the King of the school who took the outcast to a party because he could, who kissed her under the stars because he felt like it?
Hot skin pressed against skin. Steam from the pools twirled around us, like fingers drawing me deeper. My whole body roared with fire. Why is it always fire?
A terrible sadness gripped me, because this kiss was the greatest thing that had ever happened to me. It was amazing. It was breathtaking, and it should have been with someone else. But he was dead, consumed by fire. And now here I was, igniting a flame inside myself with another guy before Dante’s had been properly put out.
The sadness only made me press harder, my body arching into Quinn’s, seeking the solace of his touch. He didn’t grope at my breasts, instead trailing his fingers down my spine, over my hips, brushing the edges of my bra. Quinn pressed his thigh against my leg and I could feel his hardness and my throat closed up but my body begged for more, more…
Through the mists, I saw Ayaz on the other side of the pool. One of his girls was nibbling on his ear, while the other had her hand under the water, pumping up and down and… I could guess what she was doing. He should have been paying attention to them, but his eyes locked on me, those dark irises burning with hate.
A shudder ran through my body that had nothing to do with desire. Quinn sensed it. He pulled back. “What’s wrong?”
“I’m sorry,” I whispered. “Ayaz.”
Quinn glanced over his shoulder and flashed Ayaz the finger. “Hey, bro, stop making eyes at my date. You’re putting her off.”
“Don’t bring plague victims into the grotto,” Ayaz shot back, rolling his head back so he stared at the stars. The girl in front of him was really going for it. I slunk away from Quinn, not wanting to see Ayaz get jerked off. Quinn took my hand and pulled me back against him, pressing my back against his chest so that his arms wrapped around my front and my ass pressed up against his… against him.
“Don’t let him get to you,” Quinn murmured against my ear. My body shuddered in response – the good kind of shudder this time. “Ayaz hates scholarship kids, but it’s really not personal.”
“Why?” I was finding it hard to speak with Quinn pressed up against me.
“Because he used to be one.”
Quinn let that piece of information hang in the air. I opened my mouth to ask more. It didn’t make sense … Ayaz was a King… he had all those merit points… the only scholarship plan was for seniors… so how could he have been like me?
But Quinn was clearly done with talking. He nibbled my earlobe until I gasped, then tilted my head back and pressed his lips to mine, and I forgot all about Ayaz. Quinn’s hand pressed against the back of my neck, angling me just so. His mouth devoured mine and I trailed my tongue along his lips. He tasted the way he smelled – like coconut and sugarcane, like the sweetest dessert mingled with a slight tang from the weed. I forgot about Ayaz, forgot about Dante, and lost myself in Quinn’s expert arms.
“Quinn! I need to talk to you!”
Courtney’s shrill voice pierced my ears, jolting me back to reality. Quinn’s whole body tightened. He drew away from me, his eyes drifting to the heavens.
“She hasn’t seen you yet. I need to deal with this.” He slid out of the water, trailing his fingers along the top of my head in a possessive way I kind of liked. “Wait here for me.”
Before I had a chance to reply, Quinn clambered over the wet rocks to where Courtney and her friends were lounging, wearing expensive designer dresses and kicking off their expensive shoes like it didn’t matter if they rolled off the cliff. He bent down and planted a kiss on Courtney’s ruby red lips. A dark thread of jealousy curled up my spine. I pressed my finger into the burn on my wrist as Courtney sank back against the rocks, giggling as she pulled Quinn on top of her.
I’m so stupid. I thought when Quinn said he was sorting it that he meant he was breaking up with Courtney. For me. Fire burned in my cheeks – the fire of humiliation. Of course, Quinn wouldn’t be dropping Courtney for me. He’d brought me here specifically because he wanted me to see this. It was all part of a monarch game.
I have to get out of here.
I turned back to the water. The group with Madison and Amber had moved into the center, so I’d have to go around them. I pushed up from the side and dog-paddled my way to where I’d got in. As I neared the edge, Ayaz reached out and wrapped his wrist around my hand. I yelped. He yanked me so hard toward him I nearly kicked the girl between his legs.
“What are you doing here?” he growled, his face inches from mine. Despite myself, his voice still sent flames of desire through me. Behind him, I could see the girl staring at us in confusion. I didn’t blame her. I’d be confused too if I was jerking a guy off and he suddenly dragged over the most shunned student in school. Ayaz’s second girl was nowhere to be seen.
“Quinn invited me,” I said. The words came out more like a question. I berated myself. You have to be strong around him or he’ll eat you alive. Get it together.
“You don’t belong here. You should leave.”
“Forget about her, Ayaz,” the girl simpered in his ear, running her manicured nails down his naked chest. “I’ve got
something right here you want…”
Ayaz shoved her off him. He leaned right in close, his breath hot against my face, caressing the same places Quinn had just been kissing. My whole body tingled with an electric charge that pulsed between us. If I moved even an inch, we’d be pressed together, skin on skin.
Ayaz tilted his head to the side. “Watch out for Trey tonight,” he whispered, his lips grazing my ear.
“Why?” I said, but Ayaz was already floating away, his dark eyes boring down on me, begging me for something I didn’t understand.
Why did he tell me that? It sounded like a warning. But if Trey was planning something for me, why would Ayaz bother to warn me?
I flicked my gaze over to him, but he leaned back against the rocks, his blonde friend straddling him and… yeah, my cheeks flushed. It was definitely time to get out of the grotto.
I pressed my hands against the rocks and shoved myself up. Instantly, goosebumps rose on my skin. God, it was cold out here. I scrambled down the rocks, picking through the expensive shoes and discarded designer dresses, searching for where I’d left my clothes balled up inside Quinn’s jacket.
Ah. There’s Quinn’s jacket, and underneath… my hands grasped thin air.
Huh?
Quinn’s boxers, jeans, and shirt were there, but my clothes weren’t. I tugged everything inside out, then searched the nearby rocks, thinking they might have been kicked aside accidentally. We definitely left our clothes here, and…
Cold panic settled on my shoulders. This wasn’t an accident. Quinn had talked me into going into the grotto, and now my clothes were missing. And my mirror shard. I was shivering, practically naked, in the middle of this party filled with people who wanted to do me harm.
Shit. Hazel, you’re an idiot. You brought along a weapon to defend yourself, and then you let them get their hands on it.
A few feet away, Someone giggled. “Looking for something, gutter whore?”
I looked up to see Trey’s girlfriend Tillie, wearing a red bikini that left nothing to the imagination, and a matching red silk kimono and Louboutin heels. She stuck her hand on her hip and curled back her lip in amusement.
Terror rose in my throat. It didn’t take a genius to figure out that someone had stolen my clothes. A couple of guys wandered over from the band area. I scanned the area for Quinn, panic swirling inside me, growing bigger and more monstrous as I realized just how perilous this situation had become.
No way was I going to stand around in my dripping-wet underwear and wait for whatever attack was coming. I grabbed a black dress at random from the pile and tugged it over my head. It barely covered my ass, but barely was better than nothing.
“Hey, that’s mine!” A hand grabbed my shoulder. “Give that back, you bitch! You’ll ruin it!”
“Then give me back my clothes,” I yelled, my voice too ragged and panicked to carry any authority. I swung Quinn’s jacket over my head and shoved my feet into his boots. More bodies moved down the rocks toward me. I heard guys snickering, girls chuckling like hyenas.
I shoved past Tillie and headed toward the dance floor. Got to find Quinn. Got to get out of here.
I couldn’t see him anywhere. I raced toward the food and drinks area, scanning the crowd. A couple of guys from the lacrosse game were shaking cocktails for a small crowd. No Quinn. Two bodies tangled together in front of the food table. I squinted. Yes, that was them.
Courtney and Quinn. He was still buck-naked. She had her hands all over him, one graceful leg lifted up and curled around his back, staking her claim. My lips burned as I stood frozen, unable to tear myself away.
She’s not my girlfriend, Quinn had said. Well, he could have fooled me. Of course I fell for his shit like an idiot, because I wanted to believe a guy like Quinn could choose me. But nothing had changed – he was still King, she was Queen, and I was nothing.
Courtney must’ve noticed me, because she pulled back and licked her lips. “See something you like, gutter whore?”
I like your boyfriend. Too bad he’s a big fucking dicksome idiot. “Nope. I was feeling peckish, but you’re just having your ‘my heart will go on’ moment right in front of the food. Are you sure that’s not a health code violation?”
Quinn laughed. He ran a hand through his hair and turned to face me. His smile wobbled. He wasn’t as sure of himself as he made out. “Hazy, I—”
Courtney gripped his shoulder, digging her nails into his flesh. Quinn snapped his mouth shut. “Back off, dyke,” Courtney hissed. My cheeks burned. I spun on my heel and strode away.
I did a circuit of the party area, walking with purpose and barreling through groups like I was desperate to get to someone even though I was completely alone. I needed to get back to that cave, but I couldn’t remember the way. The only other people who knew were Quinn, Ayaz, and Trey. Quinn was clearly out-of-bounds, I wasn’t exactly going to go near the grotto again, which meant that I had to find Trey. Great.
I found myself back near the drinks table. Thankfully, Courtney and Quinn had moved on. I bypassed the glass bottles and pitchers of red-stained punch and loaded myself up a plate of snacks – satay chicken, sushi, chocolate truffles, little crab cakes with cream cheese. Even if everything else at Derleth Academy sucked, the food was top notch, absolutely amazing. I had no idea how the students got their hands on these expensive ingredients, but I wasn’t going to let them go to waste.
I took my plate and wandered over to the moon temple, hoping that the food would calm my churning stomach and give me something to do with my hands so they’d stop shaking. I stood as close to the fire as I dared, enough to catch a scrap of its warmth, but far enough away from the huddled couples that no one would notice me. Far enough that I could pretend the sight of flames curling up toward the sky didn’t give me horrible flashbacks.
I finished my food and found the corner of a rock by the edge of the terrace. I swung my legs around, dangling them over the edge and studying the Milky Way splashed across the sky. I imagined Thomas Parris and his friends gathered around a similar fire, wearing robes and chanting in Latin to raise spirits and demons. I felt like the students of Derleth Academy were doing him proud.
A rough hand clamped down on my shoulder, dragging me back against the sharp rocks.
“Quinn—” I gasped.
But it wasn’t Quinn. It was Trey. His teeth scraped along my collarbone, biting down against my ear.
“Why can’t you listen?” he demanded. “Why can’t you stay away from my friends?”
I tried to tear myself from his grasp, but he held me tight against him. I kicked out with my feet, trying to find purchase on the rocks. But all I kicked was thin air as Trey lifted me up, dangling me over the rocks. My wet body welcomed the fire of his skin, even though my heart pattered with fear.
Of course, I never did very well with fear. It tended to make me mouthy.
“You’ve been coming into my room,” I managed to hiss at Trey. He made a growling sound low in his throat, the kind of sound an animal would make if it was being provoked. I knew I should stop talking, but I needed to hear it from him. I needed to know the truth. “You took my journal. You tarred my hair. How did you do it?”
“It doesn’t matter how,” he growled. “It matters why. You had to get the message.”
“What message?” My fingers dug into his arm, the only thing stopping me from toppling over the edge.
“That you should give up now. That you should leave this academy. Just run away, back to your old life, gutter whore. I’ve tried to make it obvious. I don’t know what else to do to make you see…” A wave crashed against the cliffs, spraying us both with dark, cold water. Trey’s arm slipped. My feet clipped the edge of a rock. I screamed, but the wind and the sea swallowed my cry.
Trey’s arm tightened around my throat. He leaned forward, my whole body tipping, the ocean rushing up to meet me.
My arms swung wild, grasping at air. My feet slipped and skidded against the sharp rocks. The win
d whipped up, spraying my naked legs with salt tears.
I’m going to die I’m going to die I’m going to—
Stars spun above my head, the band of the Milky Way swirling with the curl of white froth capping the dark waves. The specks of light becoming the flames of dying stars, the faces of my mother, of Dante. Panic collided with my grief, and the grief swallowed me up into the cold night. My arms went slack. I stopped fighting. Fine. Let me die.
Let me find the only people who will ever love me again.
“The fuck?” Trey growled, adjusting his grip as my whole body slackened. “Hazel?”
“Do it,” I choked out. “Go on. Give me what I want.”
Trey made a noise in the back of his throat that sounded like an animal in pain. He tossed me to the ground. My body slammed into the hard rocks. Pain arced up my side. My head swam and I gripped the earth as it spun around me.
“Fuck. Fuck.” I could hear Trey swearing. Other people were talking in quick, hushed voices. They sounded muffled, as though they were shouting underwater. I lifted my head and tried to see what was happening, but white stars burned and exploded and died in front of my eyes. I placed a hand under my shoulder, trying to shove myself upright, but my body refused to obey. My cheek hit the rock, sending a fresh jolt of pain through me.
Hands wrapped around me, hefting me to my feet. “Hazy. Shit. Can you walk? Lean on me.”
Quinn. His touch was a shooting star, jetting fire through my body as he dragged me off the ground. He wrapped his flame-skin around me, steadying me as my legs collapsed beneath me. He pulled me up again, his body acting as both crutch and shield.
“That was sick,” Quinn spat out, his arms squeezing me so hard I gasped for air. Needles stabbed in my chest as I swallowed the cold. I could only make out faint, spidery shadows through the dancing lights in my eyes, but I figured Quinn was talking to Trey. “All these years you’ve pulled some fucking sadistic shit, but you crossed a line. You said you were going to steal her clothes and scare her a bit, not drop her over a fucking cliff.”
“We’ve never had one like her before.” Trey’s voice pierced my skull, sending new lights dancing in front of my eyes. “None of that small stuff is going to work. She has to believe—”
Shunned: a reverse harem bully romance (Kings of Miskatonic Prep Book 1) Page 12