The Bonds We Break (The Four #5)

by Becca Steele

  The Bonds We Break

  The Four - book 5

  Becca Steele

  The Bonds We Break

  Copyright © 2021 by Becca Steele

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Editing by One Love Editing

  Cover photography by Michelle Lancaster

  Model: Ben Atkins

  Becca Steele

  www.authorbeccasteele.com

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s crazy imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

  Contents

  Playlist

  Author’s note

  Another note

  A Quick Recap

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Epilogue 1

  Epilogue 2

  Thank You

  Acknowledgments

  Also by Becca Steele

  About the Author

  Playlist

  Genius - Sia, Diplo, Labrinth, LSD

  Tongue - Maribou State, Holly Walker

  Such a Whore (Stellular remix) - JVLA

  Lapdance - N.E.R.D, Vita, Lee Harvey

  Show Me a Good Time - Drake

  Dangerous Woman - Ariana Grande

  Patience - KSI, YUNGBLUD, Polo G

  5 O’Clock - T-Pain, Lily Allen, Wiz Khalifa

  I Am Enough - Cimorelli

  Life of the Party - Shawn Mendes

  Need You Now - Dean Lewis

  Selfish - Madison Beer

  Good Days - SZA

  SUN GOES DOWN - Lil Nas X

  Falling - Harry Styles

  Blackout - Freya Ridings

  More of You - JP Saxe

  Anyone - Justin Bieber

  Holiday - KSI

  Find the playlist on Spotify or YouTube

  Author’s note

  The author is British, and British English spellings and phrases are used throughout.

  Another note

  While The Bonds We Break is a standalone novel, it is best enjoyed after the previous four books in the series, in order to gain an understanding of the characters and continuing storylines. All are available on Amazon, and are in Kindle Unlimited.

  #1: The Lies We Tell

  #2: The Secrets We Hide

  #3: The Havoc We Wreak

  #4: The Fight In Us

  If you haven’t read them, or read them a while ago and need a reminder of what happened, read on for a quick recap of the books. Please note that this recap contains MAJOR spoilers!

  Becca xoxo

  A Quick Recap

  *Contains spoilers for the first four books in the Four series*

  Winter Huntington moved to Alstone in order to investigate her father’s mysterious death, moving into an apartment on the campus of Alstone College, which she shared with Kinslee Stewart, who would later become her best friend. When she arrived in Alstone, she reconnected with her estranged mother, Christine Clifford. Christine was now married to Arlo Cavendish, one of the three founding families of Alstone Holdings and a powerful man.

  Arlo had two sons, Caiden and Weston, who lived with their two other best friends, Zayde Lowry and Cassius Drummond. Collectively they were known as the Four. All sexy, tattooed, girls falling at their feet…you know the type.

  While Weston was friendly enough to Winter, Caiden hated her. Or so he tried to tell himself. This all stemmed from the fact that he despised Christine, who had been having an affair with his dad. During their affair, Caiden’s mother had committed suicide (a fact that Caiden and Arlo took care to keep hidden from Weston, to protect him. Instead, they’d told him that she’d passed away from a brain haemorrhage).

  Then came the story of boy meets girl, boy hates/lusts after girl, girl is confused, oops we kissed, we kissed again, my dick slipped into you, some fireworks, and yay we actually like each other!

  Alongside all that, the investigations continued, and Winter and the Four drew closer to the answers. Weston was a computer genius, and with the help of his hacker connection (codenamed Mercury), he was able to procure information that would help them. At a party at the Cavendish residence, Winter met Cassius’ younger sister, Lena, for the first time, later finding out that Lena was there to investigate an illegal dog fighting ring, which was being live-streamed in one of the side rooms at the party. She later helped Winter and the Four, becoming a friend to Winter in the process.

  There was a situation involving Winter’s friend James Granville, ending up with Caiden jumping to the wrong conclusions and telling Winter it was over between them. Unfortunately right after that happened, Winter ended up being knocked out and taken by the Belarusian gang that were working with her mother, and when she was eventually found, things were a little awkward between her and Caiden.

  Circumstances kept them apart (i.e. Caiden needing time to come to his senses), and at a masquerade ball, they finally reconnected, although they’d both been coerced into attending with other dates. Winter with Cassius, and Caiden with Jessa De Witt, who was the daughter of Lars De Witt, a businessman who was negotiating an important deal with Alstone Holdings. She had known the Four for years, and had previously been with both Cassius and Caiden, and along with her friend Portia, was jealous of Winter’s new importance in the lives of the Four.

  There was more fun/stress, some more sex, an argument or two, and then Joseph Hyde (James Granville’s cousin and a complete asshole) cornered Winter on New Year’s Eve. It wasn’t pretty, but Zayde and Caiden saved the day.

  Winter went rogue, and found out that the Cavendish butler, Allan, was also involved. It eventually came to light that he was even more involved than they’d originally thought.

  Winter and Zayde decided to get help from Credence Pope, aka Creed. He was one of the most powerful men in the country, and his connections were far-reaching. Thanks to him, they ended up with a surveillance van and all sorts of fun things, culminating in the interception of a meeting between Christine, the Belarusian Strelichevo gang, and the Hydes. Shit went down, Winter nearly got caught, but they managed to capture Joseph Hyde and Allan. It was time to get some answers.

  Answers were forthcoming, but Christine was one step ahead. She’d managed to kidnap Jessa De Witt thanks to her mistaken belief that Jessa was Caiden’s girlfriend, and she blackmailed Caiden to release Allan and Joseph in order to set Jessa free.

  It was time for the showdown at Alstone Docks. Christine went full-on villain, and revealed that she’d not only had Winter’s dad killed, but she’d been behind Caiden and Weston’s mother’s suicide. She was planning to take over Alstone Holdings, and get rid of
the rest of the Cavendish family.

  She shot at Winter, and Caiden pushed her out of the way to save her, getting himself shot in the process. His lifeless body fell to the floor, and it broke Winter. In the ensuing chaos she stabbed Christine, Arlo turned up and shot Christine, and Allan was killed.

  Later in the hospital, Caiden woke.

  They gradually managed to start rebuilding their lives, and Winter became a permanent member of the Four, and her relationship with Caiden went from strength to strength.

  As for the true cause of Caiden and Weston’s mother’s death? Caiden and Arlo had planned to tell Weston, together.

  Unfortunately, Weston found out before they could tell him. Chaos ensued, as he was hurt and betrayed. He turned to Lena Drummond, his best friend’s sister, who was secretly in love with him, but unfortunately for them both, she was also hiding her own secret from him. She had a secret identity…she was his hacker connection Mercury, and he had no idea until he accidentally found out. More drama, some sexy fun, an investigation of an illegal dog fighting ring, and then true love conquered all. All was well in Alstone again.

  Until now…

  For Sue

  Your heart knows the way. Run in that direction.

  Rumi

  PROLOGUE

  All the best love stories start with an epic blowjob.

  Okay. Love might be stretching it a bit, unless it was possible to love someone’s mouth. Especially when that mouth was talented as fuck and gave the best blowjobs I’d ever had the pleasure of receiving. And I’d received enough to make me a blowjob connoisseur.

  Jessa De Witt, on her knees in front of me, those sexy, pouty red lips wrapped around my cock while her tongue flicked across the head, was the queen of sucking dick. Not only could she deep-throat better than anyone else, she loved it. A whole range of hot as fuck noises came from her throat as she sucked me down, sending vibrations all through my dick, while she tugged on my balls. My hands tangled in her long, glossy dark hair, and she let me fuck her face, opening her throat so I could thrust all the way in.

  So. Good.

  It felt like seconds before my balls were tightening and I was spilling my load down her throat.

  After I’d put my dick away, I tugged her to her feet, pulling her into me and sliding my mouth over hers in a messy kiss, tasting myself on her tongue.

  She pulled her head back, staring at me, her green eyes glassy and unfocused. “Why do you like to taste yourself?”

  I shrugged, a grin spreading across my face. “Because I taste good, babe.”

  She huffed out a disbelieving laugh. “You are so full of yourself, you know that?”

  Avoiding the obvious reply, I flashed her another wide grin. “With good reason. Have you seen me?”

  Shaking her head, she stepped backwards, but I stopped her by gripping her wrist.

  “Where do you think you’re going?”

  “We’re finished here, aren’t we?” She glanced pointedly down in the direction of my cock.

  Another tug and she was plastered against my body. “Do you want to ruin my reputation?” I put on a shocked voice, just so I could enjoy her resulting eye roll. “Let it never be said that Cassius Demetri Drummond doesn’t satisfy his woman.”

  She glanced around us before returning her attention to me. “Firstly, in case you haven’t noticed, we’re in a roomful of people,” she said, like I’d suddenly forgotten that we were in the middle of a party. Up against the wall in a darkish corner, but still, the party was going on all around us. Not that it bothered me—it wasn’t the first time I’d had my cock sucked with other people around, and I wasn’t the only one, either.

  “Secondly,” she continued, “I’m not your woman.”

  “Any other objections?” I gripped her sexy ass, palming it as I wedged my thigh between her legs.

  “No…” The word was breathed out of her as she ground herself against my leg.

  “Mmmm. That’s it, baby. I know you don’t care about these other people any more than I do.” Dropping my lips to her neck, I bit down lightly. “And you know I’m not a one-woman man, just as you’re not a one-man woman. We’re only eighteen. Fuck being tied down—we have to spread the love. It’s our duty as beautiful people.”

  “Where do you get these lines?” It sounded like she was caught between a laugh and a moan, and that wouldn’t do. Snaking my hand in between us, I found her pussy bare and soaking, and I circled her clit.

  When she whimpered, I smiled. Much better.

  “Do you want my hand or my mouth?” I licked up her throat before blowing on her dampened skin, and she shuddered, grinding herself down on my leg.

  “Any. Just hurry up,” she panted.

  “Mouth, then. I’m gonna make you come right in front of all these people.” There wasn’t really anyone paying attention to us, but I knew the thought of it would get her going more than anything else. It got me going, that was for fucking sure. My dick was already stirring again, even though I’d just come.

  A low moan fell from her lips, her body rolling shamelessly against mine. Taking hold of her hips, I stalled her movements, then dropped to my knees. There was a wet patch on my jeans where her pussy had ground against my leg, and my dick jumped.

  Fucking hot.

  With no underwear to bother with, I pushed up her dress, hooked her leg over my shoulder, and ate her out until she was sobbing out her orgasm over my face, the roomful of people forgotten.

  Cassius rose to his feet, licking his lips with a slow, deliberate movement. I was distantly aware of the other people surrounding us, but at that moment, he had my attention. His dirty-blond hair was dishevelled, his blue eyes gleaming beneath his thick lashes as his mouth curved into a cocky grin.

  “Good, huh?”

  When my breathing was finally back to normal, I replied, “You know it was.”

  He dropped a kiss on my lips. “See ya later, babe.” Before I could return his goodbye, he tugged me against him, his lips coming to my ear. “I fucking love your mouth.”

  Then he melted into the crowd and disappeared. When he’d gone, I made my way to the bathroom, straightening my dress and fixing my hair and makeup as best as I could. Blowing my reflection a kiss, I unlocked the bathroom door.

  “There you are.” Portia Thompson, my so-called best friend, strutted up to me, stunning as usual in a short black dress, her gorgeous red hair cascading down her back in loose waves. She stopped in front of me, looking me up and down. “Didn’t we decide that mint green wasn’t your colour?”

  “I can pull it off.” Tossing my hair over my shoulder, I gave her a look that dared her to disagree.

  “If you say so.” Her gaze flicked over me disdainfully. “Let’s get a drink.”

  These caustic comments were the main reason I called her my so-called best friend, rather than my actual best friend. Sometimes I wondered if we even liked each other at all or if we just hung out together because it was what was expected of us, with our families being rich and influential.

  We headed into the kitchen, and as usual, I ignored the whispers, the usual mix of envy and scathing comments. The queen bee’s crown was heavy, but my position at the top was expected of me, and it wasn’t like I could complain, anyway. I was one of the elite—a girl that other girls tried to emulate, with the attention of the hottest boys, always invited to the best parties. I worked hard, cultivating relationships that would be beneficial for my future, constantly maintaining the delicate balance between school and social life.

  I thought I was untouchable, but I was wrong.

  How easily it all came crashing down.

  Eighteen, maybe nineteen months ago. That was the last time I’d got my mouth on Jessa. Before things changed. Before Caiden caught her eye and their families tried to push them together. Before I met Winter Huntington and realised that maybe I was capable of catching feelings for someone.

  By then, I’d been single for so long, I wasn’t sure I could be any othe
r way. Or even if I wanted to be, to be honest. My life was great; I had a steady stream of women, and the very occasional man, whenever I wanted. I had a group of best friends I’d lay down my life for, and my initial feelings for Winter, whatever they were, had settled into a deep, pure friendship.

  I didn’t have one of those weird “feelings” like something was missing in my life.

  Life was good, and I was happy.

  I was the master of my own fucking destiny.

  Everything was as it should be.

  Until it wasn’t.

  ONE

  The smell of petrol clung to my skin as I struggled against the ropes restraining me. I was angry, yes, but I was also afraid. More afraid than I’d ever been in my life.

  Never show your hand.

  My dad’s words came back to me then, as the car took a sharp turn and I fell, my head smacking into the passenger-side door. The man in the driver’s seat, the one with the scarred cheek, sour breath, and harsh eyes looked over at me and laughed, then said something in Russian that I didn’t understand. I concentrated on breathing, in and out, slowly and steadily, even though my heart was pounding out of my chest.