by Angel Lawson
“What do you want, Cohen?”
“This doesn’t concern you, Hawkins.”
“I think it does. We’re chaperoning this event. No older classmen.” I glance behind him. Phillip, Adam, and Mitch lurk near the door, not quite brave enough to come all the way in. None of them want to be on the other side of my fist.
Seeing them isn’t a surprise. Is the other guy standing a few feet behind Trip. Luke Fenway.
I narrow my eyes. “Come back for another beating?”
“Name the time and place.”
I shake my head and laugh. “You’re an idiot. And both of you are violating a shit-ton of rules, get out of here. Let these kids have fun. Your contest is over, Trip.”
His face swings my way. “Stay out of my business.” He pushes past us into the room, heading straight for the stage. Gray chases after him, Emma stops him.
“Let him go.”
“And let him talk everyone into leaving?”
“They have to decide on their own, Gray, you can’t force them into a decision.”
This little girl is tough.
“Fine,” Gray says, “but he’s like the devil himself. Don’t blame me if every girl in this room is half naked and making out in his room.”
Trip hops up on stage and gestures for the DJ to stop. The music slows, and Trip grabs a microphone.
“It’s ten o’clock, Sparrows! Past, actually. You know what that means and where you’re supposed to be.” His voice is calm, measured. “I’ll allow a five-minute delay to get upstairs.” His eyes narrow, taking in the fact the boys and girls are mingling. “And I’ll be handing out penalties for breaking the rules.”
There’s a slight murmuring in the crowd, but no one moves. Trip’s face turns an unholy shade of red as he watches his game crumble before his eyes. The DJ, at Theo’s gesture, cranks up the music, and the party resumes.
Trip jumps off the stage and walks my direction, calmer than I’d expect. His threat though, is laced with venom.
“I’ve made it clear that if any of you interfered with my business again, I wouldn’t go as easily.” He puffs his chest out, and Luke watches from nearby. “Don’t come crying to me when you don’t like what comes next.”
“Get the fuck out of here,” I say, clenching my fist.
They don’t argue. Trip isn’t one for sudden moves. He’ll need time to prepare for his next one, but he can plan all he wants. We’re shutting him down for good.
33
Eden
It’s past midnight when we return to the Academy—the dance should be long over. I have a few messages from the guys and I send them back a group text letting them know I’ll catch up with them in the morning.
I just need to go to bed.
“Thank you,” I say as Dorian and I walk into the building. “I couldn’t have done that alone.”
“You probably could have, but I’m glad you didn’t have to. Not being there for you last time is one of my biggest regrets.”
We walk through the long hallway that cuts through the building, stopping at the bottom of the stairs. In another lifetime he could walk me to my room and I’d invite him in, but not here. Not now. He’s worked too hard to get to this place in his life and I’m not going to be the one to take that away.
“Goodnight.”
He takes a few steps toward the back door—the way to his apartment.
“Goodnight, Eden. Let me know if you need anything.”
“I will.”
I watch him push through the glass and wooden doors, a gust of cool air rushing in. In a blink he’s gone in the dark night, and I turn to head up the steps when I hear the door swing open again.
“Forget something?” I ask, but before I can turn, hands are on me, dragging me away. I squirm, but the grip is tight. Something foul and damp is placed over my mouth. I instinctively breathe, inhaling chemicals. My chest seizes and the world turns dark.
I wake to the sounds of a drizzle, warm liquid splashing on my toes. Laughter bounces in my skull. My head aches, drowsy and full, but I blink open my eyes, trying to reconcile what I’m seeing.
Trip—no, not Trip—Luke Fenway’s face, angular and strong, swims in my vision. His mouth is tugged in a cruel smile. I look down and see my feet. Bare. Wet. It clicks. The sound. The feeling. The laughter.
Luke holds his dick in his hands, pissing on my feet.
“Wake up, sunshine,” he says, shaking off. He tucks himself back in his pants. “Tell your girl it’s time to get started.”
“My what?” I say, my voice weird and distant. Panic seizes me as I realize then that there’s a body next to me, our arms pressed against one another. I look over and see Rochelle, her hands bound. I look down at my lap. Mine are, too. I nudge her with my shoulder.
She moans and shifts.
“They’re awake,” Luke says, alerting me to someone standing behind me. Even in my drugged state I’m not the least bit surprised to see Trip circle around.
He stops in front of me, eyes dark—meaner than I’ve ever seen them. My brain clears, and it looks like we’re in a house or something.
“Where are we?” I ask him.
“Somewhere that I can take my time.”
I blink, trying to focus. The place feels old. Musty. More cabin than house. Then it hits me. We’re at the place where he hid his contraband. The one way out on the woods—far away from the school or anyone else.
“What do you want?” I ask, fighting against the binds. They cinch tighter.
Taking care not to step in the pool of cooling urine, he reaches out and touches my chin. “You just had to get in the middle of my little contest, didn’t you? Eden Warren, the savior of virgins and cockblocker supreme.”
“That contest was disgusting. You’re disgusting. I can’t even believe you thought you’d get away with that.”
Rochelle exhales next to me, blinking at the room. “Eden?”
“Yeah, I’m here.”
“Me, too,” Luke says, getting in her line of sight. Rochelle visibly recoils. “Thought we were done, eh? Getting rid of me has never been easy.”
“Like a fucking STD,” I mutter.
He steps over and yanks me by my hair, lifting my face to his. “What was that, Warren?”
“Hands. Off.” Trip says in a low voice. “Do not touch her.”
Luke releases me and steps aside. Not that I wanted him to touch me, but Trip’s reaction? It sends chills down my spine. I hold his eye. “What do you want, Trip?”
“What I want is my contest. I had one planned, and you fucked it up.”
“Yeah, well tonight didn’t turn out how I’d planned either,” I say, thinking about Hope, stone cold in the morgue. “But you don’t see me kidnapping people over it.”
Trip moves to one of the chairs across from us. We’re in the living room of the cabin. It smells dusty and unused. The couch I’m sitting on is scratchy, as is the netting of my dress. Rochelle is also still in her dress from the dance.
“Sit,” he says to Luke, who’s pacing like a feral dog. He obeys, taking the identical chair next to his cousin. I watch with repulsion as Trip unzips his pants and rests his hand in his lap. Cold dread builds in my belly, and I feel Rochelle stiffen next to me as Luke does the same. I can’t do it again.
“Like I said, sweetheart, you ruined my contest. I had a full night planned of girl-on-girl action, jacking-off and some sexual humiliation.” He doesn’t even try to hide his motives. “Since you ruined that for me, you and your girlfriend are going to take their place.”
“What is he doing here?” Rochelle asks.
“It’s my understanding you owe him a little back pay on a prior arrangement. I told him he could join in.”
“Trip, let us go,” I say, trying to keep my voice even, “this is extreme, even for you.”
“You know me, Eden. You can say no, you can always say no, but I don’t think you’ll like the consequences.” He looks at his cousin and then pointedly at R
o. “All I’m asking for is a show. Luke? You know he isn’t as considerate.”
The threat is clear. If we don’t do what he wants, then Luke can have his way with Rochelle. She whimpers next to me. I take a deep breath. “Don’t hurt her.”
“I’m not into pain, baby, you know that.”
No, Trip wants to humiliate. To break women down. He wants to own and possess. I know in my heart he can’t take that from me this time because my heart already belongs to four other men. My soul is tied to theirs.
I look at Rochelle. I couldn’t save Hope, but I’ll do what I can to save her.
“What do you want us to do?” I ask.
His eyes light up, reveling in the fact this is going to happen. He settles back in his seat, reaching in his pants. “Take it slow.”
“What about the binds?” I ask, holding my hands up.
“Make it work.”
Luke laughs and leans back in his chair, both of them extracting their cocks from their pants. Luke disturbingly drops his all the way to his ankles, then spreads his legs, forcing a view. They’re both already hard, they’re both big. I swallow back bile and look at my friend.
“You ready?”
She laughs darkly. “Are you? This isn’t my first time, Eden.”
Without hesitation she leans in, grazing her mouth with mine. Her lips are soft, so different from a boy’s. Very different from the man I’d been kissing earlier that night. There’s no prickly beard scraping my chin. No hard urgency from a strong, forceful jaw. Her touch is sweet. Feathery. She pulls back and bites her bottom lip.
“Damn,” Trip says, stroking his length. He licks his lip and tries to hold my eye. “But I’m going to need a little bit more.”
I focus back on Ro, there’s only so much we can do with our hands bound in these stupid dresses. She leans into me again, gliding her tongue across my lips, then ducks to my ear, where she tugs on my lobe with her teeth. I hiss from the pain, and Luke grunts from across the room.
“Just follow my lead,” she whispers. “I know what makes them tick.”
She scrapes her teeth over my shoulder and trails kisses along the front of my chest. We focus on one another, ignoring the ministrations by the guys across the room. Kissing Rochelle isn’t the worst thing I’ve ever done, definitely not the most demeaning. I go for her mouth again as she struggles to touch me with her bound hands.
“This would be easier if I could touch her,” she says between sultry kisses. “Don’t you want me to get her off?”
I look over at Trip while Rochelle continues to kiss me. She’s good at this, really good, my belly pulsing at her touch. The meanness has vanished from his eyes, shifting to something hungrier, thirstier. With one hand still on his hard, throbbing cock he gets up and walks over. Fear builds in my chest just having him come our direction. This could flip on a dime and I’m in no position to defend myself.
He reaches in his back pocket and pulls out a pocket knife, flicking it open. In a quick move, he saws through Rochelle’s tie. She exhales and rubs her wrists and he holds the small blade in my face. “Don’t try anything.”
I’m not convinced he’ll use it, but god knows. “I won’t.”
He cuts through the tie, freeing my hands.
Before I can react, Rochelle takes my face in her hands and kisses me with more determination that before, swirling her tongue in my mouth and pressing her body against mine. She runs her hands down my sides, skimming her thumbs over the edge of my breast. I don’t really know what’s happening here, I’m way out of my wheel-house, but Trip’s returned to his seat, and has begun guiding his hand up and down his cock again.
Everything about this moment is surreal. Everything, from the flick of her tongue to the way her fingers graze over my breasts. She turns me around, exposing her back.
I blink, trying to figure out what she’s doing, then feel her fingers on my zipper. She pulls it down, revealing my blue strapless bra and panties, then pushing the skirt to the floor. From behind she reaches around me, cupping and massaging my breasts.
“A few more minutes,” she whispers in my ear, her voice seductive.
Across the room, Luke groans, his hand moving a bit faster. Trip watches us closely, the tension in his jaw leaving with each passing minute.
They’re completely consumed with this moment, with watching us touch one another, deriving pleasure from ours. I lift my arm over my head, linking it behind Ro’s neck, I catch her eye and see despite the aroused voice, her eyes are clear.
This girl is a hell of a faker.
Her hands leave my breasts traveling downward, skimming over my belly to the edge of my panties. My stomach is on fire, a mixture of pleasure and fear. Rochelle is good at this, so good, but one slip up, and this could all go wrong.
Her fingers push down the front of my panties, gentle and quick. I moan, a genuine reaction. A familiar, nauseating sound comes from across the room. I look over. Trip’s legs are sprawled across the floor, hand moving furiously. He’s seconds from releasing.
“So beautiful, sweetheart, always so fucking beautiful.”
A feel the warmth between my legs, the coil starting to build. Rochelle’s touch is good, so good, and my mind drifts.
Except, for a brief, fleeting moment my eyes meet Trip’s. His lips curl in a smug, lazy grin.
I reach to still Rochelle’s hand, and say, “Now.”
There’s not a beat of hesitation as we disconnect from one another and run. I stumble over my dress as the guys shout, a mixture of pain and distress.
“No!” Trip screams, but he’s too caught up in his orgasm to come after me. He stands, cum spilling from his cock, out of breath and discombobulated. He lunges at me. “We’re not finished!”
“I am!” I shout, punching him in the face and then kicking him between the legs. He clutches himself, falling hard to the floor, landing in his own fluid. I run past Luke, cock still erect and pants at his knees. I get to the door and wrench it open. I’m met with a blast of cold air against my bare, overheated skin.
I hear a yelp behind me and turn.
“Fuck you,” Rochelle screams, facing off with Luke. She makes a calculated move, one we learned in self-defense. Elbowing him in the ribs and stomping on his toes. But her feet are bare, and he’s twice her size, taking both in stride. He slaps her hard across the face. She spins, landing on the back of the couch. He walks to her, flips her over to her stomach, and pushes up her skirt.
“God, I’ve been wanting to do this for months.”
The rip of fabric tears through the room. He tosses her panties at the door.
“No!” I scream. “Don’t touch her!”
White, hot, body-consuming rage courses though me and I charge back in the house. I barely get two feet when a pair of hands grabs me by the waist and pulls me back.
Two bodies push past me, storming in the house.
“It’s okay,” a voice tells me, cradling me against his chest. I look up into Theo’s face, tears springing to my eyes. “It’s okay.”
“Go, go help her,” I tell him, but he doesn’t let go. He doesn’t have to. I hear the slap of skin against skin, the grunt of pain exploding in the house. I hear Rochelle’s footsteps on the floor. She bursts through the door, and I pull her to me. Theo holds us both as Gray and Hawk handle the garbage inside.
Theo takes off his jacket and covers Rochelle’s shoulders, then pulls off this sweatshirt and carefully lowers it over my head. I feel his lips on the crown of my head. There’s barely a scratch on the two of them when they walk out on the porch.
“Come on,” Hawk says, lifting me into his arms. “I called Dorian. Security should be here soon.”
Neither of us have shoes and it’s a long walk back to campus. Theo picks up Rochelle, who rests her head on his shoulder and closes her eyes.
“How did you find us?” I ask. Gray uses his phone flashlight to light the way.
Hawk’s heartbeat pounds in his chest. “When the contest
fell apart, Trip lost his shit. He’d brought Fenway up here to watch the spectacle. He made few threats, but we thought you were safely off campus. I think it was dumb luck he ran into you tonight. But luck was on our side too. Emma saw you and Dorian saying goodnight by the staircase and Trip and Luke jumping you. Thank god she came and told Gray.” He kisses my temple. “We were almost too late.”
Exhaustion overwhelms me and the warmth of being so close to Hawk makes it easy to drift off as he carries me back to campus. Later, I hear Dorian’s voice, strained and worried.
“Is she okay?”
Hawk answers, “Physically, yes.”
“Rochelle may need the infirmary,” Theo says. “She’s got a nasty bruise. I think Luke hit her pretty hard.”
The doors open and we’re inside, the cool air turned warm from the heat. Hawk carries me up the steps. I touch his chin. “Where are you taking me?”
“My room.”
“But—”
“No buts. I’m not letting you out of my sight until those assholes are gone, and this time if they don’t kick them out, we’re leaving. I know you want to help these girls and get a good education, but it’s not worth this. It’s not worth losing you.”
I fade in and out from there, knowing this boy won’t let anything happen to me. I wake later in his bed, surrounded by warmth. I expect Hawk but soon realize that it’s Gray on one side, Theo on the other. Their bodies are pressed close and our limbs intertwined. I peer across the dark room and see Hawk, eyes open, watching the door.
Forever the leader.
Always my protector.
34
Eden
As much as I want to hide in Hawk’s bed forever, that’s not in the cards. Dorian arrives early the next morning, grim-faced, but relieved. Downstairs, there are administrators and police that need a statement. There’s examinations and telling my story over and over. There’s crying to do with Rochelle.
And then I have to tell the K-Boys about Hope.