Cruel

by Raven Kennedy

  “Don’t let her rile you up,” Rogue warned me before pushing his own door open.

  I shot him a mischievous grin. “Don’t worry. I plan on doing the riling this time.”

  Once at her front door, Rogue went to reach for the doorbell, but I clasped his wrist to stop him. “Allow me,” I said with a grin while balling my hand into a fist and pounding on the door.

  Loud dogs started barking in high pitched yelps while Stephanie’s shrill voice called out. “Honey! Stop barkin’ this instant. You know it’s just Godfrey.”

  “I hate those damn yuppy dogs. They always chew up my shit,” Godfrey muttered under his breath while she wrestled with her four legged entourage before opening the door. The door was pulled back, revealing her ridiculous outfit—a mesh top and high waisted shorts that practically showed off her vagina flaps—while a wave of her sweet perfume slapped me in the face, making my nose wrinkle in disgust.

  “God, did you bathe in cotton candy before we got here?” I asked while choking back a sneeze.

  Her mouth dropped open in surprise as I pushed past her and looked around her house. Judge Palmisano made damn good money. I wondered if he was as crooked as the guys implied. Her ranch style home had wood beams lining the ceiling and a sitting room decorated with deer heads and antlers mounted on every available space. Gross.

  The moment my feet hit the tile, a tiny dog started biting at my ankles, growling in a sound that mimicked Stephanie’s sneer. I bent over to pet the dog but snapped my hand back when he bared his teeth. “Well. You’re about as friendly as Stephanie,” I cooed in a sweet tone before turning to greet her once more.

  “What are you doing here?” she asked while eying me with scrutiny. Godfrey slung his arm over her shoulders and grinned at me, like he couldn’t wait to hear my answer. But I wasn’t worried. I knew exactly how I wanted to run this. I was thankful that he’d taught me how to play a person. It was starting to come in handy.

  “Rogue told me about your little arrangement. He told me how he liked to get off on watching, and since he’s mine now, he brought me along,” I said with a shrug.

  I’d been thinking about how best to approach this situation since first learning the true reason behind Rogue’s nightly visits. Stephanie craved acceptance. She might have accused me of being an Heir Chaser, but it was her that reeked of desperation. And now, I wanted to know just how far she was willing to take it.

  “Are you game?” I asked, while looking her up and down assessingly.

  Beside her, I watched Godfrey’s eyes flash with amusement before he managed to put his mask back in place.

  “I’m not a lesbian,” Stephanie snapped before twisting to look at Godfrey, “I mean, not unless that’s what you like?” she asked in a softer, questioning tone. She placed a hand on his chest, looking at him with those needy eyes that made me want to roll my own.

  “I didn’t just bring her along for the fun of it, Steph. Things have been getting boring lately, and since Scarlett here was so willing, I was thinking we could spice things up a bit.” His lie was effortless, and I loved how easily he played along. It was nice being on his side for once, and not being the one getting played.

  Stephanie visibly reacted to the dig and pulled her hand back from his chest before looking at me with anger, like somehow his disinterest with her had something to do with me. Didn’t she know? Godfrey wasn’t interested in anyone. But God help the woman that finally caught his attention for more than simple sex. He’d destroy her. He was worse than Rogue used to be with girls. At least Rogue had always been up front and let them know it was just a one-time fuck kind of thing. Godfrey liked to toy with their emotions, constantly making them think he actually liked them before yanking the rug right out from underneath their pedicured feet.

  “Well, let’s go upstairs and get comfortable, then,” she gritted out, before leading the way up her winding staircase. For the first time since entering her house, I chanced a look at Rogue, who had a huge smirk on his face.

  “You’re evil,” he mouthed before swooping in to crash his lips into mine. “Don’t kiss him. But have fun, Scar,” he murmured with a wink. “I need to make a phone call real quick,” he announced, loud enough for Stephanie to hear. Then he darted around the corner and disappeared.

  I trailed my fingers along the banister as I walked upstairs, following the sounds of Stephanie’s forced giggles. My mouth dropped open in surprise when I got to her bedroom. I was expecting pink walls and frilly bedding to match her girly personality, but instead, the walls were painted a deep burgundy, and the bedding covering her large king-sized bed was black. Posters of metal bands covered the walls, and she kept a preserved rose in a glass case on her desk.

  “Whoa. You’re uh…kinda dark, Steph.” It almost made me respect her more. But then I remembered she was a selfish bitch who tormented me this last year.

  I was surprised at how easily Stephanie let us come upstairs and test out this little sexual experiment. I’d thought she’d be suspicious, considering she’d made my life a living hell for the last year, but just when I was going to start having fun, Stephanie called my bluff.

  She turned around and gave me a wide smile. “Since you’re so ready to do this, I guess I’ll just get things started,” she said with a smug look. She took the bottom of her shirt and pulled it off, then reached behind her and unclasped her bra. Godfrey sat back on the black bed to watch the show, his blue eyes glittering with pleasure.

  As soon as she dropped her bra at her feet, my eyes immediately lowered. She had nice tits—good handfuls, with perky, pink nipples. Her chest was bigger than my athletic bust, and she had soft curves throughout. She looked the way my mama wanted me to look.

  Stephanie beamed at me, wearing only her tiny shorts, and placed her hands on her hips. “Well?” she prompted with a self-satisfied smirk. “What are you waiting for? You’re not gonna chicken out, are you?”

  I narrowed my eyes, and she laughed, before walking over to Godfrey. He widened his legs, letting her step between them, her ass in front of his face. “If you’re not gonna participate, you can go,” she told me. “I’ll figure out a way to keep your interest, baby,” she said to Godfrey over her shoulder.

  Godfrey leaned back on the mattress, propping himself up on his elbows and forearms before shooting me an amused grin. His eyebrow arched in challenge at me as if to ask, “Well? What are you gonna do now?”

  So I called her bluff. I yanked my shirt off, shoved my pants down, and then shook my hips as I made my way across the room to stand in front of her, and she eyed me warily. “I’m not going anywhere, Steph.”

  The moment we were face-to-face, I raised my hand to gently grip the back of her head, threading my fingers through her blonde hair. Her triumphant smile faltered when she realized I wasn’t going to back down.

  I leaned in close, and the air between us immediately shifted. “You’re a bitch, and I probably hate you the most out of everyone at Smith,” I murmured against her mouth, letting my hot breath dampen her lips. She swallowed hard, and her eyes dropped to my mouth.

  As my left hand softly toyed with her hair, I brought my other hand up, letting a single finger trace over the curve of her hip bone, up past her waist and ribs, and then just barely grazed over her breast. She shivered, and I watched her skin erupt with chills.

  “I hate you, too,” she said back, and although she tried to sneer and bite out her words, the effect was lost because of the quick way her breaths were coming in.

  “But you know what they say. Hate and passion are just two sides of the same coin, Steph,” I added, my voice breathy as I placed both hands at her ribs and slid them up and up, before brushing my thumbs along the pebbled peaks of her nipples. Her breathing became more rapid, and I smiled at how easily she responded to my touch. It felt good to finally have the upper hand with her.

  “I’m with Rogue now,” I told her, letting one finger trail over her collarbone and up her throat. I leaned in and licked
a trail down the side of her neck, pulling a satisfied shiver from her body. “So maybe it would be best if you learned to play nice.”

  I heard Godfrey chuckle. “That sounds like an excellent idea, Scar. Why don’t you girls show me just how nice you can be?”

  The corner of my lips twitched as I pulled back. The perverted asshole was enjoying this. “What do you say, Steph?” I challenged. I wasn’t going to back down, but I also wasn’t going to actually force her to do anything if she didn’t want. Rogue was downstairs gathering everything. We only needed a few more minutes.

  When I felt her hand snake to my bare waist, I was pretty sure she didn’t even mean to do it. “We do a lot for the Heirs, don’t we?” she muttered.

  I nodded, feeling her hand trail up my arm, mirroring my own movement on her. “Yes. We do.”

  She bit her bottom lip, leaning closer as she appraised me. Then, before I could blink, her lips were on mine.

  I was so shocked for a moment that I stayed frozen in place. But damn. She was a good kisser. So with one, what the hell thought, I started kissing her back.

  “Holy fuck in a church pew, that’s hot as hell,” I heard Godfrey curse. It spurred me further, making a confident wave of pleasure shoot through me as I tasted her.

  Stephanie’s touch was featherlight on my waist. I’d never kissed a girl before. Her lips were so soft, her tongue teasing. It was nothing like kissing Rogue. And while I was invaded by her sickly sweet perfume, her kiss was nice. It actually made me hate her just a little less.

  “Oh, God, please touch each other’s boobs,” Godfrey said pleadingly, but we ignored him. I pulled on her hair once more, adding a roughness to our kiss that made her smile against my lips. I broke apart and kissed her neck, sucking on her supple skin just enough to leave a mark. I wanted her to think about this later, I wanted her to know that the girl she called trash turned her on. In some ways, I hoped that she would be plagued by thoughts of me, would touch herself and feel disgusted all the same for liking her enemy.

  She let out a shaky gasp as I trailed my hands down her sides until they were at her hips. I dug my nails into her porcelain skin and moved back to her lips to kiss her one last time. She arched her back, opening her legs for me to brace my thigh between hers. I obliged, mostly because I really wanted to burn this moment into her head. I wanted her fucked up by our interaction. And when she grounded herself against my thigh with a moan, I pulled away just before she could get a good enough friction going. Always leave them wanting, right? I learned from the best.

  “I leave you for five minutes, and you’re making out with Steph and getting her off?”

  At the sound of Rogue’s voice I pulled back and looked over my shoulder, seeing him propped against the wall with one ankle over the other and his arms crossed in front of him. My eyes flicked down to the hard outline of his erection that was clearly visible through his pants.

  I cocked a brow. “Enjoying the show?” I teased.

  He eyed me up and down, not even paying Stephanie’s naked breasts any attention, even though they were pressed right up against mine. “I thought I would,” he said with a shrug. “But I changed my mind. I want you all to myself. Let’s go.”

  Godfrey groaned but stood up, fixing his pants as he walked to the door. “That was one of the best things I’ve seen in years,” he said.

  I stepped away from Stephanie, but instead of looking pissed, she just rolled her eyes and sat down on her bed, unashamed of her nakedness. I could sense that she wanted to look unaffected, but there was more to it. Her chest was heaving and she watched me with interest, pulling her lips between her teeth before forcing them back out again. “You Heirs are so hot and cold,” she finally said while averting her eyes away from me. Yeah, Steph would definitely be thinking of this later. I barely held back a smirk.

  “Oh, it was one hundred percent hot,” Godfrey replied with a grin. “Don’t you worry about that.” She rolled her eyes, but I could tell that his words pleased her. “Keep up this nice Stephanie thing instead, and maybe Bonham will actually give you a chance,” he said.

  Her eyes flared and her lips thinned, but she said nothing as I pulled back on my pants and shirt. I had no idea what Godfrey meant, but now wasn’t the time to ask. “That was fun, Steph,” I told her, and I didn’t even have to lie. “See you at school.”

  “Whatever,” she said, acting unaffected, but I knew better.

  The three of us walked out of her room, Godfrey leading the way as Rogue put a possessive hand on my ass. “Gotta say, Scar, I didn’t think you had it in you.”

  “I do a lot for the Heirs,” I chirped back, feeling pleased with myself.

  Rogue squeezed my ass and leaned in to speak in my ear. ‘You’ll be doing a lot more for me later.”

  I grinned. “Looking forward to it.”

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  For the meeting, we picked a storage facility on the outside of town that Luis's family owned. He promised us that no one would be around, which meant limited opportunities for civilian casualties. They sounded like a military response group, planning logistics and working through every variable. I listened from my seat on Rogue’s game room sofa, staring at the stack of boxes that sat on the floor in front of us. There, right there, was evidence that could put Johnny Jack and his men away forever. Rogue had finally found ones that had Johnny Jack himself in the shot, along with several of his men.

  Rogue and Luis were whispering to one another about logistics when Bonham entered the room, carrying three guns in his arms and an assault rifle slung over his shoulder. Guns weren’t rare in the south. Daddy had his own display case full of them in his office, but seeing Bonham juggling four weapons that we’d potentially be using to protect ourselves tonight made everything seem more...real.

  “Well,” I began while eyeing the clock hanging on the far wall. “We’ve got four hours. We should get the arguing about whether or not I’m going out of the way. Bring it.” I looked around the room at each of them, flexing my muscles while preparing my reasons for wanting to go with them.

  “Actually, I think the smartest thing for us to do is bring you along,” Rogue answered with a shrug. “I’m not leaving you alone. What if he tries to get you while we’re all preoccupied? Johnny Jack is naturally suspicious. I wouldn’t put it past him to have a back up plan in place to try to get you.”

  I blinked at him in surprise. “So just like that, you’re gonna let me go?”

  I looked at Luis, who was unbuttoning his Smith Academy shirt to put on a black cotton tee.

  “Yeah,” Rogue answered.

  “You’re not gonna go all caveman protective on me? Lock me up? Do some ridiculous scheming to push me away?" I asked.

  "Nope," Rogue said, a bit roughly.

  It was stupid, but I felt myself deflate a bit. I had been preparing for a fight since we were at Stephanie’s house, assuming that Rogue wouldn’t want to risk me going with them after the incident with Rocco. His answer was surprising to say the least.

  I shook my head at myself and laughed. “I’m so fucked up,” I muttered under my breath, nearly slapping myself when I realized I’d said that outloud. Looking around, I blushed at the smirk Godfrey was wearing. Yep. He knew what I’d been thinking.

  "What?" Rogue asked, looking confused.

  “She wanted you to put up a fight. Kinky little thing,” Godfrey answered for me while Luis snickered.

  Yeah, I’d become a bit addicted to the fighting and fucking that Rogue and I had going on. So what?

  At Godfrey’s answer, Rogue’s eyes darkened on mine and took on a hungry look. “Is that right, Scar?” he asked, moving to stalk toward me, the hint of a gleam in his eyes at what Godfrey was insinuating.

  My breath quickened as he closed in on me. “Maybe.”

  He cupped my neck and pulled me close. I breathed in the smell of his cologne, the spicy scent making me salivate. Dropping his head forward, he looked me in the eye, his hooded stare making
me melt at his feet. This thing between us was like fucking gravity. It pulled me down to him every single time. “You want me to put up a fight?” he asked in a low, husky tone that made me curl my toes.

  “Maybe?”

  “Maybe you should fucking give me a real answer.” I practically purred at his smoky voice.

  “Yes.” The word escaped me like a breath.

  Rogue braced his hands on my ass before bending and hoisting me over his shoulder. I accidentally flashed Bonham, Luis, and Godfrey my black lace thong, but they were too busy laughing at our hot little display to comment on it.

  Rogue had us out of the room and took the stairs two at at time, jostling me against his back, but I was getting off on his caveman grunts too much to care. He kicked open his bedroom door and tossed me on his mattress in the next second. My breathing rattled as I watched him reach behind his head and pull off the navy shirt he was wearing in a teasingly slow movement. Licking my lips, I trailed his tattoos with my eyes while dipping my fingers beneath my skirt to tease myself at the sight of his body. I was already buzzing from lust. It didn’t take much for Rogue to get me going.

  “That right there, is the sexiest fucking thing I've ever see,” Rogue said, zeroed in on my dancing fingers. I moved them along the edge of my panties where my skirt had pushed up. Sure that my cheeks were flushed, I arched my back to let him know that I wanted his body pressed onto mine. My mouth parted on a shaky exhale as I pressed a finger over my clit, moaning as he watched me and kicked off his pants and boxers. His cock sprung free, and I licked my lips, enjoying the view of his muscled body and the V that led to his impressive dick that was hard and waiting for me.

  Another time, when we had more time, I’d make him watch me. Tell him he couldn’t touch until I came. Make him wait for me.