A shiver races through me knowing that there's more to come.
I came here to start over. Not to just fall back into this toxic thing with Kane. This was not part of the plan.
13
Kane
I drop into my car that I'd left on the other side of the street to where the party is still raging.
I can see both Luca and Leon through the large windows at the front of the house still enjoying themselves with their fan club.
They haven’t even noticed that she's gone.
Fucking assholes.
So much for protecting her.
I walked straight in and took exactly what I wanted.
It was easy. Too fucking easy.
It barely took the edge off what I needed. I should have left with her. Thrown her in the back of my car and took her back to my room where I could have spent the entire night teaching her a lesson for all the mistakes she's made.
She'd have fucking loved that a little voice says in my head.
I rest my head back and close my eyes as the image of her on her knees with my cock between her red lips threatens to consume me.
I was not fucking expecting that.
I might have got off calling her a dirty whore, but I'm pretty sure the reality is very different.
Those fucking skills though, fuck.
I tug at my pants trying to make space for my rapidly swelling cock.
I should drive away, but I'm too intrigued to see what she's going to do.
Part of me hopes she comes running out clutching her dress to her chest and I'm able to pick her up and continue our night.
I must sit out here for almost an hour watching the party continue without me before I finally push the key into the engine and pull away, leaving her behind. Still in his bed? Maybe.
My fingers tighten around the wheel as I think about him finding her there in a few hours.
I had no idea it was his room, I just walked to the room the farthest away from the party but the second I pushed inside, I knew, and the smuggest fucking smile formed on my face.
But has that backfired?
If he finds her and she confesses to me being there, then he's going to be gunning for me even more than he is now.
He's spent all week trying to convince the AD that I shouldn't have a place on the team. I thought he'd succeeded when I got called in to see him after class this morning.
But thankfully, all he did was issue me with a warning about what Luca has been trying to do and welcome me to the team.
As it fucking well should be.
He has no idea how much I know, and truthfully, I don't know how deep his involvement is with Victor and the Hawks. It can't be much seeing as he continues to hold his position at Maddison, but I know for a fact that we've got enough dirt on him to wipe him from his position and ruin the reputation of every single sports team at MKU.
Or, and potentially worse, will Luca find her in his bed and continue with what they started out on the dance floor.
Watching her dance between the two of them turned my blood to lava.
Even now, hours later I can still feel the burning need to march over and rip her from their grasps.
She's too fucking good for a pair of pussies like them.
I pull up at the house only ten minutes later to find a similar situation to the Dunn's place. People fucking everywhere.
Only, where the Dunn party was full of serious athletes letting go for a few hours, this party is wild. And by wild, I mean the weed burns my lungs when I step through the already open front door and slip around a couple fucking against the wall before I make my way to the living room where Ezra is snorting snow off some girls fake tits and Devin is enjoying a lap dance. Ellis, as always, has his nose stuck in his cell. Fuck knows that he's reading with all this going on around him.
Someone moves toward me, and I have to give Reid, the oldest Harris brother, a double-take as he approaches.
"Dude, what the fuck are you doing here?"
He lifts his fist in greeting and I bump it before he scowls at a couple on the couch and they damn near shit themselves before scrambling up and running from the room.
He passes me a bottle of beer and we drop down.
"Brought the fucking party, didn't I? You don't think those pussy motherfuckers could have pulled this off."
I shrug, not telling him that this is college and the second word gets around about the kind of gear these brothers are going to be peddling then there will be a line around the block to attend.
"They not pulling their weight, Daddy had to send you in, eh?"
It's no secret in this house that the Harris brothers are here for only one reason. To lock up the drug supply in Maddison.
They've got Harrow Creek and Rosewood down tight and this is the next patch to claim.
"Nah, they're good. I just fancied being a college kid for the night. No responsibilities and all that." His eyes flick over to where Devin, his oldest little bother is now fingerfucking the girl on his lap.
"Oh yeah. How's that going for you?"
"How is it he's got a girl already and I don't?"
"Because you're talking to me," I suggest.
"Fucking right. I'll catch you later. I need some fucking college chick action."
"Don't do anything I wouldn't do," I shout as he walks away in search of a victim for the night.
I scan the room, half tempted to stay and watch the drama unfold but in the end, I find myself a bottle of vodka in the kitchen and make my way up to my room.
A few guys stop me for a chat as I make my way to the stairs but I don't hang around, especially when some of the drunken girls begin to get a little handsy. Usually, I'd return their attention without a second thought but tonight with the scent of Letty still in my nose, I push them away and jog up to my room to lock myself inside for the night.
Stripping out of my clothes, I throw them into the laundry pile in the corner before marching toward the bathroom. Part of me is desperate to shower and get her scent off me, but the other wants to fucking bottle it.
Turning the shower on as hot as it'll go, I step under and scrub my skin until I'm red.
I need her off my body and out of my fucking head.
It's wishful thinking, she's been deep inside both for more years than I want to admit.
She should have been yours all along the little voice in my head taunts me, but I shake it away.
She's never been mine.
I put someone else's happiness and desires before mine. And look where that got me.
With a dead best friend and a girl I can't forget who I'll forever hold responsible.
"Fuuuuck," I bellow, planting my fist into the tiles before me and watching as my blood begins to seep over the white porcelain.
I need to walk away from her.
To put her behind me.
But I can't.
The beast that lives inside me, the one that constantly seeks revenge for every fucked up thing that's happened to me, needs her. It needs to see her pay. To watch her crumble and shatter right before my eyes. And it doesn't matter that my heart beats to an entirely different tune because that motherfucker still thinks we're thirteen years old with a crush on a girl he can't stop thinking about.
My fist finds the tiles again and doesn't stop until two of them are cracked and the water beneath my feet runs red.
The pain helps, it always has but it's not enough.
The only thing that calms it is her. This is why I already know that I'm not going to be able to turn my back on her.
The house is a fucking disaster when I emerge the next morning. There are bodies in all states of undress as I make my way to the kitchen for a coffee.
The only sounds that can be heard are that of the passed out drunks snoring and someone heaving somewhere. I really fucking hope that's into a toilet, or at least in one of the guy's bedrooms.
"Thought you'd stay the night, eh?" I ask Reid as I join him in the kitchen
.
"Shit in the Creek can wait for a bit."
I kick some guy in the stomach who's passed out in the middle of the kitchen.
"Out," I bark the second his eyes flicker open and he slowly climbs to his hands and knees and crawls from the room.
Slamming the door loudly behind him, I turn back to Reid.
"Why are you really here? You don't need college to get pussy," I mutter, knowing that he's got girls lined up in the Creek to get a piece of Victor Harris's firstborn son, the prodigy that's going to take over the empire one day.
"Maybe I wanted one who didn't know who the fuck I was."
"Really?" I ask suspiciously. It's no secret that Reid likes to flaunt his power to get whatever the fuck he wants, women included.
"What can I say? Change is good for the soul."
"You're full of shit."
Reaching for a mug, I start the coffee machine, feeling his eyes burning into my back.
"You got a question, just fucking ask it, bro."
He hesitates, giving me a chance for my mug to fill and I spin around, mimicking his stance leaning against the counter with a mug in my hands and wait for him to spill.
There’s no fucking way he came here to party like a college kid. It's not his style.
"Do…" he starts before looking at his feet.
"Reid, say it. Ask it. Whatever the fuck it is. I've got your back, you know that."
He's a year older than Devin and me but we've grown up close as fuck. We've worked side by side for years for their cunt of a father. I know them better than my own family—not that I've got much of that left these days.
"Are things going okay around here, you know… with business?"
"It's only been a week," I say, my brows drawing together.
"I know but that's long enough to know if you've seen anything suspicious."
Devin and Ezra might think they own this place, that they’re in charge of business, but the truth is that there's someone pulling their puppet strings, and that person is Reid. He might not have enrolled here, but there's no doubt about who's in charge of this little takeover mission. The younger Harrises are just the ones on the inside making the connections.
"What exactly are you suggesting? That they're not pulling their weight," I say, tilting my chin toward the ceiling to indicate where his younger brothers are sleeping above our heads.
"I'm sure it's nothing. Vic's worried that they're not getting through shipments quick enough."
"Well, then he needs to slow down the fucking shipments. Three guys can only shift so much while studying and making it look legit."
"I know, I know. He just sent me to check things out."
I narrow my eyes on him, suspicious as fuck. Reid always has his finger on the pulse of this business. If he's suspicious then… something doesn't add up.
"You're hiding something."
He pins me with a hard stare. One that might make one of their weaker minions quake in their boots, but not me. I'm one of them. I might not be in the drug ring anymore—by fucking choice after the bullshit with my brother going down for possession for their stash but I'm as much one of them as they are. So fucking what my birth certificate doesn't say Harris. I've lived this life with them for as long as I can remember.
"If they fuck this up, then they won't initiate."
"They won't fuck it up," I mutter knowing just how vital this place is to their future. They’ll wrap up Maddison in a nice little bow then Vic will complete their initiation and they can all join the senior chapter of the Hawks with Reid.
I should be heading in the same fucking direction but like fuck am I committing my life to that fucking asshole. It's bad enough he's ruined my childhood with his bullshit.
Victor Harris and I have a deal. A fucking good one that he'd better not pussy out on. So far so good, but there's still a long fucking way to go yet.
"Go back to Daddy and tell him everything is fucking hunky-dory and get him off their backs."
"Alright, papa bear," he mocks. "How's things on your end?"
"Quiet, thank you. I don't have time for that bullshit."
"You know it's going to come to an end eventually."
"Yeah, when the season is over with some fucking luck."
"I still can't believe you managed it. A fucking Panther, man. It's pretty epic."
I nod at him, a smirk twitching at my lips. I might have sold my soul to the devil to get here but fuck, does it feel good.
14
Letty
My head pounds as I come too. I try to swallow but my mouth is so dry that I've no chance.
What the hell happened last night?
I remember sitting out on the deck with Luca and Leon.
Drinking.
Drinking a lot.
Dancing. Their hands. Their bodies grinding against mine.
My cheeks burn at the memory. I bet I looked like a right…
"Dirty little whore."
I hear his voice as if he's actually here, and when someone groans beside me, I sit bolt upright with my heart in my throat.
Tell me I didn't. Please, for the love of Christ, tell me I didn't.
Sucking in a breath, I hesitantly look over my shoulder.
All the air rushes from my lungs when I find a mass of dark hair instead of dirty blond and perfectly clean skin instead of the inked-up arms someone else has.
"Thank fuck," I breathe.
Although I don't immediately lie back down knowing that it's safe. Instead, I have an internal war with myself as to whether I should attempt to sneak out.
I'm sure the last thing Luca wanted last night when he finally stumbled up here was to find me curled up in his bed.
Chances are, he'd brought a girl up here and I ruined his night.
"Stop overthinking it and lie the fuck back down, babe."
"I, um… I really should—"
"Lie the fuck back down?"
A laugh falls from my lips. "I was going to say go."
"I'll take you back later, don't worry. Right now, I'm too fucking hungover to deal. Now lie the fuck down and give me something to cuddle."
I snort but regret it when my head pounds.
"Y-yeah, okay," I cave, lying back down and curling up with my back to his chest.
He loops his arm around my waist and pulls me even tighter into him, so tight that his morning wood pokes me in the ass.
"Uh… Luc…"
"Shhh. Cuddles."
I open my mouth to respond but before I find any words, a soft snore falls from him.
Smiling, I relax back and tuck my hand under my cheek, closing my eyes and praying for a few more hours of sleep.
I must eventually drift off because when I come back to, the bed beside me is cold. Thankfully though, my head does feel a little better.
Turning over, I crack my eyes open and find Luca slumped back on his desk chair staring at me. He's only wearing a pair of gray sweatpants, and fuck, is it a sight to wake up to.
"Morning sleepyhead," he says, his voice still rough from sleep.
"You should have woke me."
"Nah, you looked too peaceful. There's water and pills if you need them." He nods toward the nightstand and I can't help but sigh at the welcome sight.
"Thank you."
I slide myself so I'm sitting in bed, more aware than ever that I'm just dressed in his shirt and a tiny pair of panties.
Memories from the night before threaten to surface but I force them down with the painkillers.
"So…" Luca starts, and my heart sinks. He wants answers and I'm not sure I'm prepared to give them to him. "How exactly did you end up in my shirt and in my bed last night?"
"Um…" My cheeks burn as I think about what actually happened in his bed last night. The image and sensations of Kane between my thighs hit me and my entire body flushes hot. "I… uh… had too much to drink."
"And you just happened to find my room?" I know what he's thinking. I've never been here before
, the chances of me finding it in a drunken stupor are slim.
"Apparently so," I mutter, my face burning with embarrassment. "I hope I didn't ruin your chances with a girl when you found me here."
"Let," he sighs, his head tilting to the side like a cute puppy dog. "I'll always put you first if you need me. You know that."
Guilt rips through me because by the fact I'm here right now, it's clear that I wasn't putting him first last night. Not that I had a lot of chance to put much thought into anything.
I pull his sheets around me, needing to hide. My body aches and I already know that my skin is marred with marks and bruises from him. I can't let Luca see them. He will undoubtedly lose his shit if he thinks Kane has even laid a finger on me.
"I'll leave you to get sorted. You hungry? I make some mean pancakes."
I rip my eyes from him to the heap of fabric that is my dress behind him.
I can't put that on, it's ruined.
Fuck. I need to get out of here before anyone starts asking any more questions.
"Rain check? I really need to get back. I've got so much work to do."
His face drops and I hate myself that little bit more.
"Yeah of course. You want something to wear so you don't have to do the walk of shame in last night's dress?"
"That would be great, thank you."
He pulls out a pair of sweats he claims are too small for him and an MKU Panthers hoodie, drops them to the bed and with a kiss to my forehead, he leaves me alone in his room.
Dropping my head into my hands, I let out a groan of frustration.
My life is such a fucking mess.
Things were supposed to be getting simpler by starting here and being close to family.
I should have just gone home this weekend.
With a sigh, I throw the covers off me and make quick work of dragging on the freaking huge pair of sweats, pulling the tie cords so tight I could almost wrap them around my waist twice.
I'm a mess.
I splash my face with cold water and finger brush my teeth with Luca's toothpaste. I find my purse on his desk, and I cast my mind back trying to figure out if I put it there or if he found it sprawled across the floor when he discovered me here last night. Before mustering up every ounce of confidence I can find and pull open Luca's bedroom door.
The Revenge You Seek: A Dark College Bully Romance (Maddison Kings University Book 1) Page 11