Hush (Pandora's Box Book 2)

by Liza James

  I have to force myself through, using my elbows and shoulders to shove people away while I look. I glance to the right as my gaze falls on two men, one of them gripping the other by the back of his neck and forcing him forward so he's bent over a table. I can't see what's happening exactly, but from the look on his face I assume he's thrusting forward and into the other.

  I'm tempted to watch, but everything inside of me is pulling me deeper into the crowd in search of K. My heart is still hammering, my head now almost completely clear of the slight buzz I was feeling earlier, but heavy with an intense migraine that threatens my vision.

  In a moment, I catch a glimpse of Dom's back, tall and wide as he moves a bit quicker. I hurry forward as well, scanning around him for the girl who continues to haunt my fucking nightmares and my reality.

  Suddenly, hands are around my waist and I'm being tugged backwards. I look back to find a taller woman standing behind me, a seductive smile on her lips as she urges me to dance with her.

  "I can't," I shout over the loud music and hastily pull out of her arms. Everyone is eager to touch in here, and it makes my stomach twist with nausea. I can't handle all of this right now, my sole focus is to find K and make sure she's safe.

  Dom moves toward the other side of the club, near the section with the bar and where dancer's can climb on the counters or raised platforms.

  I follow behind him, moving along the wall where viewing and play rooms are accessible.

  Fuck, I still can't see K in the crowd and I don't understand where Dom could be leading her. He stops at the bar and it looks as if he's ordering a drink.

  What the hell?

  He glances back over his shoulder and in my general direction. I quickly shift around the corner of where I'm standing, hiding out in the hallway while peeking back around to see where he moves next.

  My skin pricks with awareness and it strangely feels like K is close. It's like my body is already seeking hers, my vibration searching for her own, drawing me closer as I frantically comb the crowd in front of me.

  Abruptly, slender fingers slide over my mouth and force me quiet. I gasp as much as I possibly can while my hand flies up to grip the one covering me.

  "Shh," she whispers, and my entire body suddenly relaxes at the feel and sound of K standing behind me. She steps backwards, pulling me with her but keeping her tight hold until we're stepping into one of the playrooms.

  She kicks the door shut behind us and it's then that she finally releases me and steps away. She falls forward, dropping her hands to her thighs while she catches her breath.

  "How did you get away?" I frantically ask. Everything inside of me wants to stride forward and run my fingers along her cheek where he hit her. I want to make sure she's okay, but the vengeful part of me is rearing its ugly head again now that I can visibly see she's safe and away from him.

  I turn around briefly and lock the door, ensuring no one can find us in here while we figure out what to do.

  "In the crowd, someone bumped into us. A guy, covered in fucking tattoos, shaggy red hair. His eyes were fucking black, I swear it. He hit Dom so hard that he lost his grip on me and I was able to break away." She finally stands, resting her hand over her chest before taking a step toward me.

  I hold up my hands, walking backwards until I hit the door behind me. I'm grateful she's okay, and beyond thankful to whoever the hell accidentally bumped into them. But I have to keep our space now, I have to get her out of here and then take care of Dom when I get back to the apartment.

  "Don't," I start, letting my head fall back against the door while I straighten my spine. "You're safe. That's all I needed to know. You have to get out of here now, while Dom is busy."

  K stops moving, and her eyes narrow as they watch me. Her hands lift in front of her waist and she slowly, meticulously cracks each of her knuckles before responding. "That's all you needed to know?" She scoffs, intentionally stalking forward with calculated movements. I can fucking tell. She's intense as hell when she tries to get what she wants. "Well, that's not all I needed to know, Lyp. You have a lot of questions to fucking answer. Starting with why the fuck Dom knows where you live." Her hands slam down on either side of my face against the door, her chest coming flush against my own while she crowds me in.

  "I don't have to tell you anything, K. Get the fuck away from me before I make you." My fists close and move between us, resting firmly against her chest as I hold her back.

  "Then, you're going to tell me why it sounds like you're a part of his fucked-up cult." She completely ignores my refusal and irritation rolls through my blood at her blatant disrespect for what I'm doing.

  "You have no fucking idea what I've been dealing with," I bite out, spit spewing from my lips in red-hot anger when I shove her away. The air is quickly evolving into something so much darker. Tension twists around us like a fast-approaching storm, striking in bolts of bitter memories and destroyed friendships.

  She comes forward again, her shoulders rigid and her own hands clenching at her sides before raising and shoving me right back. "Then you're going to explain to me why the actual fuck it sounded like he knew anything about us back there. What the hell did you tell him?"

  "What did I tell him?" I shout, stalking forward again and again until my presence is forcing her to take consistent steps backwards. I’m snapping, I can feel it. Every ounce of frustration, every moment of compiled animosity, the years of betrayal—it’s all breaking through in one cataclysmic explosion. "What would I have told him, K? Tell me. That you're a sadistic fucking slut who takes whatever it is she wants without any regard to anyone else?"

  I push her, my hands biting into her shoulders before I release and she stumbles back. "Or that you're raging a bitch? Or a fucking rapist?" My hand flies backwards before launching forward and colliding roughly with her cheek.

  I hit her. I actually fucking hit her.

  The blazing fury that's been lingering dormant in my chest is now detonating freely through my DNA, my blood, my mind.

  I'm on fire for her. Burning up in total madness as it all springs free.

  She falls to the ground, her eyes wide in clear shock and matching anger. A red flush works up her chest, her neck, and she lifts her hand to drag her trembling fingers across her cheek where I hit her.

  "Or that you're a stupid little whore, would you prefer I told him that?" I whisper this time, falling to my knees as I move over her now small and retreating form.

  She doesn't speak, not a single word and strangely enough, it's the sweetest silence I've ever had from her. I laugh, my eyes falling down to her slick lips and focusing in on what they taste like.

  I know exactly what they feel like against my own, how soft they are when my tongue sweeps across them. But the memory is fleeting, and nothing like any kiss we've shared lately.

  Everything has been fueled by hatred for so long, I can barely remember what it felt like when things were different.

  My hand absently lifts and I press my thumb against her lower lip, tugging down just a bit as I lean closer.

  "Do it," she whispers almost silently. Her eyes are blazing into my own, I can feel it. Her darkness weaves through my light, muddying me up and then corrupting my already filthy shades. "Punish me for what I did all those years ago. That's what you want, right? To make me feel something."

  Fuck.

  That's everything I want.

  To claim her pain for myself, her begs, her whimpers, her cries—all belonging to me.

  I want to take her right to the very edge before yanking her back, refusing to give her what she needs now.

  Unexpectedly, I pull back and away from her, rising up on my knees that I now consciously realize are straddling her thighs. My eyes fall to her chest, visibly heaving with erratic breaths as her elbows prop her up below me.

  God, I want to do this. I do. We're hidden away, where I can take my time making her pay for what she did to me when we were sixteen.

  Dom won't be abl
e to find us now, and I could let him disappear while I kept her busy until we could sneak out safely.

  But... I should go. I could find Dom and drag him back home, distract him with sessions while K got out of town.

  I stand up and turn around, resolving to do what I should while I leave K hidden in this room. My hand lands on the door handle, and just as I'm about to twist it open, my chest collides with the door and my head is smashed against the hard surface.

  K's hand grips the back of my head, tugging my hair tightly as her teeth scrape across my ear. "You think I'd let you leave like this, Lyp?" Her voice is practically a growl, grating against my nerves and piercing my mind in shards of dominance.

  No fucking way.

  In an instant, the few training sessions I've had for fighting suddenly spring to my mind. I use my elbow, shoving it backwards so quickly that it collides with her ribcage and sends her stumbling back.

  "Fucking bitch," she mutters, her hand sliding over her side before meeting my gaze with her own furious eyes.

  "It astonishes me that you still believe you have any sort of control over me." I grind out between clenched teeth. I lunge forward, my hand stretching out and wrapping tightly around K's throat as her own fingers quickly grip my wrist.

  "You think I don't? That's a fucking joke, Lyp. You were always feeling too much, too fucking sensitive." She pauses, stepping forward an inch while a sick smile spreads across her face. "So easily fooled into believing I felt a single thing for you."

  Explosions. Bullets of searing anger and stabs of sudden jealousy break through me. My vision goes red and I fucking scream.

  I scream.

  I shove her with so much strength that she's caught off guard and falls to the ground. I don't release an ounce of my hold so I go down with her, landing roughly on top while I shift to my knees and tighten my grip on her neck.

  "Lyp," she quickly says, her voice a bit hoarse as she tries to breathe. But I lean forward, my elbows straight as I settle just above her chest. My eyes are glued to hers, fire igniting in my chest and this insistent toxicity sparking in my blood as I watch her.

  "Lyp, stop," she says again, but I fucking can't. I want to watch it, to experience this power and authority over her after what she did to us.

  After she fucking ruined us.

  "We could have been so much more than what you made us, K." My voice is quiet, and I like the sting I feel as her fingers dig into my forearms and her nails scrape my skin. Fuck, I think she'll even draw blood, and I think I like that even more.

  "You don't know why I did what I fucking did," she whispers through the tight hold. I lessen my grip slightly, and shift over her so one knee slides between her legs.

  "Then tell me. Tell me what made you think you could take that from me? After everything we'd been through," I scoff, the sound bitter and strangled on my own strained voice. "After everything we'd been doing."

  She doesn't respond, but her back arches off the ground a bit when I use my knee to push her legs wider apart. "You were cruel." My fingers flex for a moment and regain their hold, she takes a quick breath the instant I allow it.

  When I settle back again, I move one hand up just a bit, letting my fingers wrap around her jaw and slip over her lips. Leaning forward, I bend my elbows, watching as my hair falls over my shoulder and across her chest.

  Shit. My stomach twists, and when she arches back again, my leg grinds against her pussy. The anger in my chest shifts, evolving and contorting into this familiar draw I always fight around her.

  Stay fucking angry, I remind myself. And I do, it doesn't dissipate in the slightest. It simply demands more—more fulfillment, more passion, more fucking feelings.

  Always more.

  My fingers move across her lips when she sucks in a breath, and I suddenly want to slip them inside of her. Feel the slick heat of her tongue on my skin, her hot breath on my flesh before I watch her gag around them.

  It's like everything begins moving in synchronicity, her hips rolling forward while my leg slides up and against her. My hands hold her beneath me on the floor, and she only takes a steady breath when I allow it, only shifts her hips further when I give her the opportunity.

  "All this time, you've made me feel like you never wanted me," I whisper as I lean closer and brush my lips barely against hers. "But now? You'll be the one begging me to stop."

  I shift back and release her, standing for a moment while she gasps and tries to catch her breath. But I won't let her relax, and when I turn around, my hand wraps through her long blonde hair before I'm tugging her across the fucking floor.

  "Jesus Christ! Lyp, what the fuck?" she snaps as she struggles to crawl behind me. Her hands are grasping to hold on to me, and I relish in the fight she's offering through all of this.

  She asked for it, for the punishment. I'm only giving her exactly what she deserves.

  I turn without releasing her, crouching down in front of her face while she tensely watches from her hands and knees. My hand lifts and my fingers graze the small bruise already blooming along her jaw where myself and Dom actually hit her.

  I hate the sight of him marking her like this.

  But enjoy when it comes from my hand.

  He doesn't own her like I could. Like I will.

  "Get on the bed," I demand, my voice calm and strong in the heated space. I watch her eyes drop to my lips, narrowing just slightly before meeting my gaze again. Her chest is heaving with quick breaths, and I glance down to see her pulse fluttering at the base of her neck.

  Perfect.

  I want her anxious and unsure of what's coming, of what I can do to her now that I'm not the same naive little girl she stole from before.

  She's quiet for a moment, and just when I think she's about to do what I say, her shoulders square and she shifts back on her heels while I continue holding her. Her eyes turn cold, with a defiant smirk pulling at her lips as she quietly speaks.

  "Make me."

  My blood burns, my mind spiraling with both a newly ignited fight and draw to this darkness. My stomach twists, my own pussy pulsing at the defiance she's giving me.

  I didn't think I'd like it like this.

  But I also love the idea of making her pay, pushing her to the brink until she's begging me to stop.

  I sigh in frustration, and stand, before stepping behind her. I use the hand in her hair to yank her upwards while my other grips the nape of her neck and shoves her forward. She stumbles but braces herself against the edge of the bed when I come up behind her.

  My hand falls from her hair and I slide it over her stomach instead, pulling her against me while I speak over her ear. "Whatever I say, whatever I want—you do." My tongue slides out and sweeps along the length of her neck. My other hand slides up and over her chest, my thumb brushing over her peaked nipple before moving even higher so I'm trailing along her collar bone. "Say yes."

  "No," she replies, the quiet arrogance in her voice is forced but her body arches against mine when my fingers move over her jaw again. My teeth scrape along her shoulder, biting down until she gasps and her hands suddenly land on my own.

  My touch falls lower on her stomach, grazing along the edge of her panties before slipping underneath them. "Say yes," I demand again, this time my voice drops a bit lower and my free hand slides over her mouth, teasing the line of her lips before pushing inside and feeling her tongue. My other hand grazes low, my finger moving over her clit and feeling how incredibly wet she already is.

  She whimpers quietly and I feel the vibration on my fingers. Her body absently melts against my own, slipping into something pliable and easily manipulated while I touch her.

  "Say yes, K." I harden my voice to a sharp edge while I continue circling her clit and feeling her grind against my touch. My fingers stay pressed against her lips, feeling them move when she finally does what she's fucking told.

  "Yes."

  The word is quiet and sweet, a submissive give I'm eagerly taking for myself. My
own ache builds in my core, the desire to fuck and fight all of these feelings away rises to the surface.

  I immediately let go when she gives me what I've demanded and shove her forward so she's stumbling as she climbs up on the bed. I step back as she turns around to face me, and I keep my eyes on her while I slowly move to the back of the room.

  I lift my hands, tying my hair up on top of my head in preparation for what I'm about to do. I want every ounce of focus and control rested on her.

  She wants a punishment, she's going to fucking get it.

  Holy fuck. I have no idea what's happening right now, or why I'm so insanely turned on by this.

  But I am. And whatever is taking place is something I know will shift the dynamic of whatever we are forever.

  We sure as hell aren't friends. We definitely don't like each other.

  But this? This I can do. Denial. Demands. Submission. I can give this without facing the feelings she was needing before. She can take out her anger, and I can use the fight to fuel everything else I fucking need.

  This is sick. The use of power and sex over each other.

  Yet, here I am, watching her walk to the other side of the room while my pussy aches and begs to be fucking filled by whatever she'll give me. It's strange, being so out of control in this moment. I'm usually the one demanding power over everyone else but giving it up is far more freeing than I realized it would be.

  Part of me wonders if Dom will find us here and what that would mean for both myself and Lyp. I can almost guarantee he's left though, buying us some time to work out whatever the fuck this is and potentially move past it. At least temporarily. Dom will assume I made a break for it as soon as I ditched him, and he already thinks Lyp left the building when he demanded it.

  I am slightly nervous for this though. Because even in the freedom, comes this whip of uncertainty striking through me. I can feel the difference in Lyp's energy now, where the anger has taken root and become the clearly dominating force of her nature.

  She isn't playing the same game I usually do. She's enacting some sort of revenge, teaching me the lessons she's so positive I need to learn.