by L. J. Woods
The door to the studio swings open, Lexi standing in the frame with hands on her hips. “Really, Isaac?”
“Here we go," Isaac groans, lowering the volume.
“There’s a party in your house and you’re hiding in here third-wheeling with them? Leave them alone, they're trying to get it on.”
Ray tries to protest but Isaac cuts her off, nostrils flaring. “The fuck is it to you, Lex?”
“We’re out of ice.”
“So? This is your party for Eden points, right?” He fiddles with a knob. “Not mine.”
Her lips flatten. “Griswold’s fucking on your bed again.”
“Fuckhead!” Isaac snorts a long line quicker than I’ve ever seen before he storms towards Lexi, grabbing her arm. “Griswold is your friend so you—” His words cut off as Isaac pulls the door behind him with a bang.
I glance at Rayne who glances at the door before she looks at me. We laugh, Rayne shaking her head and it feels like the first genuine laugh we’ve shared in over a decade.
“So is this what you’re gonna do after uni?” she asks, sitting in Isaac's seat. She swivels around to me, legs crossed.
“Hockey. Isn’t that obvious?” I gesture to my ankle. “Hopefully with a healed leg.”
“Yeah, but, what do you really wanna do?” Leaning over, she turns up the stereo, my voice blaring over the speakers and I’ll admit it sounds good. “Ever thought about doing something that wasn’t laid out for ya? Not that having direct access to a studio isn’t laying it out for you.”
Her toffee eyes wander the space as something inside me heats.
Hockey was always the answer. The only thing that’ll give me my dad’s approval. Sure, it’s a path laid out for me since I could hold a stick but who wouldn’t want the NHL to draft them? Who wouldn’t want to continue a legacy?
“Why are we talking about this?” Rising from my seat I hobble towards the soundboard.
“Wait,” she says. “You won’t have that career if you don’t stay off your ankle.” Reaching around her, I finally lower the volume before changing the song.
“What’s it to you, Loca?” Grabbing the chair beside hers, I settle into it. “You’re asking a lot of questions for a relationship that isn’t real.”
“Didn’t realize that question would be too real for you.” She scoffs, leaning back in the chair, chin to the ceiling. It makes it easy to get reacquainted with her body, my eyes roaming her frame. “God, you rich kids have it all laid out, don’t you? The minute someone pokes a hole into your fragile little lives, you short circuit.”
“Wanna talk about what’s real?” I pull her closer with a tug by the wheels of her chair. Her brows raise when her legs land between mine. “Like that kiss you gave me on the bar?”
Her brows knit, Isaac’s slowed version of Cassie’s “Me & You” quiet in the background. “That was for Natasha.”
“For Natasha or ‘cause you’re jealous of Natasha?” She opens her mouth to speak, but I don’t let her, moving the ice pack from my ankle to her thigh. She jumps under the touch before I bring it up to where her tits sit perky under my jersey. “‘Cause you want me?”
“I don’t want you,” she laughs and I move the ice under her chin. It crackles under the heat of her skin.
Ignoring the pain in my ankle when I lean up, I push the ice pack between her legs. When she sighs, I call her bluff. “You’re not a good liar, Rose.” Pushing it harder against her, there’s something inside me that makes me want to prove her wrong. Right here. Right now. “You wanted me the minute you stepped into Eden.”
“You’re such a narc, is that what you think?” she asks. The fire in her eyes matches the red on her cheeks. “You forgot about me when I needed you the most and you think I came back here pining for you? Fuck, you really are delusional.”
That stings more than it should and when she laughs, it ignites something inside me. Pressing the ice pack harder between her thighs gets her to shut up, her eyes wide. “Cut it out, Perez.”
I don’t know what’s coming over me but it’s hard to stop now. Leaning closer, I whisper against her lips, “You’ve always been mine, Ray.” Moving the ice higher, to wear her clit sits under her panties, she squirms but she doesn’t stop me. And when my finger runs against the fabric covering her folds, she proves me right. “That’s why you’re wet as fuck right now. Even this ice can’t cool you down."
“Fuck you,” she spits, rolling the chair back so she can rise to her feet. She stomps to the door, long hair whipping when she turns around. “Is that what you want? Power? Control?” Taking a photo off the wall, she tosses it towards me. I dodge it before it hits the soundboard, clattering to the floor. Thank you hockey reflexes. “I’m not giving you that.”
“Ah, ah,” I call to her when her hand hits the doorknob. My cock sits rock-hard in my pants, and teasing her only makes me harder. “You already have.”
“Fuck this, and fuck you. I’m not staying around for your twisted games.”
“Tough, Rose,” I shrug, leaning back in my seat. “You leave through that door without me and everyone will know something’s up. Can’t risk that. Especially not with Tash around.”
“You can’t make me stay here.” She’s as trapped as she feels, fists clenched at her sides.
I gesture to the sofa. “Make yourself comfy.”
“You’re a piece of fucking work, you know that?” Flopping on the sofa, she crosses her arms like a brat. A cute brat. “You know, as much as I hate Natasha for being the worst friend, it still makes you a dick for sleeping with her and not being straight up with your intentions.”
“It’s my fault she took a drunk fuck for an actual relationship?” Reaching over, I grab the vodka Isaac left behind.
“Well, did you talk to her about it?”
“So you’re on her side now?” I take a swig, trying to keep my eyes from undressing her.
“Until you do, she’s gonna keep coming after you. She’s … resilient.”
That makes me chuckle because it’s true. “Like a cockroach.”
“And petty.” Rayne’s eyes narrow. “She once cut off all the heads of my dolls because I ate the last cookie. Madeleines. Her favourite.”
That makes me laugh, imagining it. "I doubt she was ever your friend."
A small smile spreads across Ray’s face like she’s having a realization. "God, you're right.” Her head hits the back of the sofa. “Being back here is crazy, this town is nuts.."
For a moment, the tension between us lifts like we’re ten years old on the ice again. My eyes settle on the dazy smile on her lips, a mix of emotions swirling between us. She’s right, it’s crazy having her back, and seeing Ray again is not at all what I’d ever imagined.
Clearing my throat, I pull my eyes away from her lips. “Check the pockets.” My jacket sits to the right of her. She cocks a brow, lifting her head. “I’m serious. Your knife’s in there. You might need it for testing cocaine or whatever it is you do now.”
“This is a trap," she says, like a fact.
“It’s not.” Rising from my seat, I do it for her, hobbling over with the bottle in my hand. Reaching inside, I pull it out. It’s beautiful for a weapon. Rose gold. Roses and skulls. It’s a long way from American Girl dolls but it suits her. “All yours.” Her shoulders fall as she reaches out to grab it but I pull it back.
“Of course,” she sighs, her hands hitting her thighs.
“Keep playing by my rules and we’ll make it through this semester together, alright?”
“Pretty sure I can make it through this semester without you. You need me, remember?”
“You call getting protection from the former Supreme Squad royalty not needing me?” I whistle. “Geesh. Talk about narcissism.”
Her head falls to the side, taking the knife in her hold. She looks at it, flicking it open. The rose gold blade shines under the light. “You know,” she says, grabbing the bottle from my hand. She takes a swig, her soft lips around th
e mouth before she speaks again. “This would all be a lot easier if—”
“You didn’t steal from me? Didn’t smash my car?”
“If you called.” Her eyes meet mine with a cold gaze that sends a shot of warmth through me. “Wrote a letter. Sent a pigeon. Something! Your dad and my dad … Our moms … We all thought you guys cared.”
Wait …
“Ray, I did call.” I perch on the arm of the sofa, trying to blink off the way the room tilts. “It took me some time after you guys left, but I called you every day for a month after that. That is until your dad told me to stop.”
Her body freezes, her brows knitting. “Da-Dad never told me that.” Her cheeks tense. “He said he reached out to your dad and he didn’t call back so I thought … And when she died …”
She takes a beat before her eyes narrow and she points that knife in my direction, rising from her seat.
Shit, I should’ve never given it back. I try to calm her down, “Ray—”
“You’re a motherfucking liar.” There’s a blur in her eye as she heads to the door. “You want me to be complacent. You want to look like the good guy all over again. But after all this?” She waves her knife at my body. “I know you’re not.” She doesn’t move when I stand but she threatens me, “Stay back.”
With a quick reach, my hand wraps around the bottom of the knife, pulling it from her hand. Blame it on the pills or the booze but when the blade pushes into my skin, I don’t even feel it. With more force, I’m able to pull it out of her hand before I pin her to the wall with my chest.
“You’re a liar, Perez,” she repeats, those tender lips an inch from mine. “A snake.”
“I tried calling you, Rayne.” Holding her angry gaze, I make sure she understands. “I don’t care if you believe me but it’s the truth. I was mad at you for leaving. Mad at you for toying with me and disappearing but I still cared.” And something tells me I still do.
"I don’t believe you.” Her face hardens, eyes as sharp as her knife like she’s fighting the truth. Fighting me. When I drag the knife up her stomach, lifting my shirt with it, that brow knit confirms it. “Not one bit.”
“Well, tough.” Running the handle of the knife down her body, she tenses when it lands between her legs. I wanna hear that little sigh again so I press it against her clit. "‘Cause you’re not ruining what I got, Loca.”
“You can’t make me do anything.” There’s something sexy in her eye, as if she wants me to meet her challenge.
Spreading her legs further with my knee, I test my theory. Ripping a hole in her fishnets, I tug her panties to the side before a finger slips between her slit. I try to keep my gaze as hard as hers but my cock is harder. She’s as wet as she was last time and it makes me growl. Makes me know she wants me.
So I push the handle of the knife inside her.
With how she’s soaking there’s not even a bit of resistance the more I slide it in. Her eyes widen before a soft gasp escapes her, “Perez—”
“Looks like I don’t have to make you act like a pretty little whore.” My words surprise me, pushing the handle of the knife further. But when she arches her back against the wall, it tells me Ray’s into it.
“Fuck you, Perez,” she moans, looking at me with both hate and want. Lust and loathing.
It only heightens my craving.
Gripping the knife, I pump it inside her until she starts bucking against it, her legs starting to quiver.
“I am fucking you,” I growl, watching how hot the thickness of the handle pumping inside her looks. When her thighs start to close, I slow my pace. “You know who has the real power here, Ray. I do. And you don’t come until I tell you to.”
“Wow.” Her laugh is breathless, like I’ve taken the air right out of her. “You’re such a fucking asshole.” She pushes on my shoulders and it’s easy for both of us to collapse against the couch behind us. And I’m only half-surprised when she starts fumbling with my belt. “Watch your ankle.”
“You watch my ankle.”
Her lips come over mine, angry and needy, as her hands slide over my shaft. It makes me push the end of the knife deeper into her, her toffee eyes staring into mine. It looks like she’s been craving this release. And she wants to see the look on my face when it happens.
“Fuck, Loca,” I groan, both our bodies moving with each other, the blade of the knife scratching against my skin. I don’t feel it with the way she’s pumping my cock, her grip so tight it makes my toes curl. “You like this knife deep inside you?”
"You like this knife deep inside me,” she moans, that attitude still on full display. “‘Cause you’re so fucking hard.” Her strokes quicken, her pace so blissfully torturous I don't know if I'll last. “Does my pussy get you this hard, Perez?”
"Why? You want this hard cock inside you?" Giving the knife a tilt, I try to find her spot. Her eyes widen. Her strokes stop. That tells me I did. "Don't you?"
"Y-yesss," she moans, moving her hips, her back arching. That only makes me throb more. "Fuck yes!" She pumps my cock faster, determined eyes on me and this is a different kind of fight. With a few more hard pushes of the knife, her legs shake, a drop of precum sliding down my shaft.
Watching the ecstasy on her face is enough to make me come with her, our bodies shaking together when we reach that sweet peak. She points my cock at her chest as she comes and fuck, a handjob isn't usually this intense but Rayne takes me to a whole other level. She doesn’t stop pumping my shaft until I explode on her smooth skin. She keeps going though, stroking me until my eyes cross and I collapse against the cushion.
Then, silence.
We lay there next to each other, catching our breaths, collecting ourselves but I know we’re both trying to figure out what the fuck just happened.
Her eyes land on mine, my cum all over her stomach and Ray looks like a fucking masterpiece. That’s an image I won’t forget.
She lets out a small laugh. "Woah.” I'm thinking the same thing when I slide that wet knife out of her. “The room is spinning.”
Ditto.
"Want this back?" I ask, holding the knife out to her.
Her face shifts, brows lowering as a hand slaps over her mouth. “I’m gonna hurl."
Wiping her stomach with my shirt, I glance at her face. "Well, that’s not the response I usually get,” I chuckle, feeling both relaxed and uneasy about it all but Rayne turns pale and I’m not sure if she’s joking.
That’s when she leans over the arm of the sofa, and before I can help, she lets it all out on the studio floor.
Twelve
Rayne
Ten Years Ago
“This isn’t for girls, Ray!”
Jasper Hawthorne is quick to shout when my skates slide up to the starting line of the ice-covered trail.
“Then you should sit this one out.” My fists clench, but keeping my eyes on the ice keeps me from punching his stupid face in.
A laugh comes from beside me before warmth envelopes my fist. “Put him in his place.” Christian Perez meets my eyes with a nod, his hand over mine. And that’s the only confirmation I need from this line of stinky boys.
“Keep those knees bent, Ray!” My dad calls from behind me.
“He means on the ground.” Jasper spits, making my teeth clench.
“You can do it, nena!” That’s Mom, evening out my dad’s orders. They're like yin and yang. Complete opposites but a hell of a team.
“What? You scared little Rayne-bow is about to ice you on the trail?” Christian calls to him over my head but I don’t need his backup.
I know I got this.
Hugo Perez comes beside the line of us kids. We're all suited up in snow gear and skates, ready to take on the Lake Montauk ice trail.
Through the meadow, orchard, and forest. Don’t look back.
I wait for the sound.
“Last chance to back out!” Jasper calls.
Never.
Hugo blows the whistle and I push off on my skat
es like a bullet, the small crowd of parents cheering behind us. The annual race doesn’t catch the attention of the other girls from Eden but I rather cream these boys on the ice than watch Snow White for a fourth time.
August thinks he’s too old for this, off with the older kids but I don’t mind taking his place.
Keeping up with Christian is easy and we’re already past the meadow.
“Little girl thinks she can skate.” Jasper reaches up to me from behind, his voice way too close. “Time to teach you a lesson.”
That’s the last thing I hear before the ice comes to my face and my body hits the ground. I slide across the ice as he lets out a loud laugh, pointing as some of the boys skate by us.
As cold as I am, my skin starts to heat and before I know it, I’m tackling him to the ground.
“Get off me!” he yells as I swing my fists at his face. He’s been picking on me the entire trip and it ends here. He screams while I keep hitting him. “You’re crazy!”
“Who’s a girl now?” I laugh back but that makes my guard drop and he pushes me back to the ground with a kick to my side.
“Hawthorne!” Christian’s voice comes from nearby before Jasper hits the ground. Christian wraps his Ranger’s jersey around his fist, dangling him above the ice. “Leave her alone!”
“Why? Is she your girlfriend?” He says it like it’s gross and … it is but I’d rather kiss Christian than Jasper any day.
“No, but you better listen to what I say because one day, I’m ruling Eden and you don’t wanna be on my bad list.” Christian pushes him to the ground while I push myself off the ice.
Jasper scrambles before he tries to take off but Damien King and Isaac Johnson make a wall. Isaac pushes him before Damien shoves him and I don’t miss the wide-eyed look he gives before he skates away. Damien and Isaac follow, laughing at him from behind. They're Christian’s best friends but, Christian's better than both of them.
He grabs my hand. “Did you see?” I ask. “I got him good.”