by Coralee June
My eyes were hooded when I pulled away. Neither of them moved, each hovering over the line of what we wanted to do next.
After a few breaths, we separated. Ryker scratched his neck and reached for another pull of the joint as I ran a hand through my hair.
Slowly, my limbs began to feel heavy. It was like I'd spent every day of my life clenching my muscles and I'd finally relaxed them. Any other time, I would've obsessed over having them so close. Blaise and Ryker were mere millimeters away from kissing me.
"What's next," I asked, my voice husky, heavy, and hoarse.
"How about we go for a swim," Blaise asked while smiling at Ryker.
"I think that's an excellent idea," he answered.
The school's pool where the swim team practiced was in a detached building. Once again, Ryker and Blaise entered it with ease while I stood watch.
The pool house was dark, the only light visible, a hazy red glow from the emergency exit sign. Chlorine filled my nose while I shuffled towards the edge of the pool to sit down. After removing my nude pumps, I dipped my toes in the cool water.
Behind me, the sound of a zipper made me pause. "Wanna go for a swim?" Blaise asked each word a slow, sensual melody. There was a hint of teasing in his tone. Blaise wanted me to fume with embarrassment, but I was so relaxed, so happy, that I didn't give in to his trap.
"Sure." I stood and made my way over to Ryker, who had just removed his shirt. I slowly took in the shadows along his rippled abs before turning my back to him. "Would you mind?" I asked, pointing towards the zipper at my neckline.
His knuckles dragged along my skin as he lowered the zipper. Blaise let out a groan as I pushed the scratchy fabric of my dress over my shoulders. When it fell to the ground, Blaise then kneeled at my feet. I used his broad shoulders to lean on as I stepped out of my dress, and he gathered it in his arms.
I wore a simple, black, cotton bra and boyshorts set underneath my dress, but it felt like lacy lingerie. Knowing they could see the outline of my curves, and the shadows on my skin made my pulse race.
With a shaky breath, I watched as Blaise looked up at me, his face level with my all too sensitive core. I wanted to test these boundaries and use the excuse of my dulled inhibitions to explore. But a hand on my hip made me pause.
"Last one in has to buy everyone ice cream," I joked, suddenly feeling very hungry. I side-stepped them and sprinted towards the pool. Laughing, I pictured their stunned expressions.
While leaping towards the water, strong arms circled my waist, and the sounds of a splash filled the room. Ryker spun me around before diving into the water himself. Carefree laughter erupted out of me.
I slowly stepped off the edge, landing feet first into the refreshing water. My body felt weightless and relaxed as I floated on my back. "Do I get to pick the ice cream, at least?" I asked while stroking the water and moving towards the deep end.
"No. When you picked the pineapple pizza two years, three months, and seventeen days ago, you lost your food deciding privileges." Blaise's voice was deadpan, and a chuckle escaped Ryker's lips.
"I'll never live that down," I groaned.
"It's a day I'll never forget. The betrayal, Sunshine," he added with a mock-sob.
I stopped my floating and swam over to where I could hear his fake cries then wrapped my arms around his neck. Blaise stopped his joking then embraced me. I wanted to wrap my legs around his waist, but I kept them firmly on the pool floor.
"Pineapple pizza is delicious."
"No, it's not." Blaise and Ryker replied simultaneously, making me laugh.
I pulled away from Blaise and swam over to Ryker. He was resting with his arms propped up over the edge of the pool, facing the wall. The soft red glow of the emergency escape sign illuminated his silhouette. I wrapped my arms around his stomach, resting my cheek on his back.
"Thanks for this," I whispered, squeezing. "Thanks for planning this little night of rebellion. Now I can say I broke into a building."
"Not exactly," Ryker replied, I felt the vibrations of his voice against me.
"What do you mean?"
Ryker placed his hands over mine and removed them from his chest before turning around. We made eye contact as he spoke. "I got a janitorial night job cleaning the school and doing some repairs. I'm saving up this summer to move to LA. Figured you could use the idea of rebellion without the actual consequences."
I took a second to process his words. He worked here? He'd planned this?
He was moving to LA?
"The window?"
"Unlocked it before we picked you up."
Blaise then swam over to us and pulled himself out of the water to sit on the concrete floor. "I thought we'd agreed to let her think she was a little troublemaker like us," he joked.
I turned to him, thinking back to his lingering hand as he guided me through the window. "You mean we could have just used the front door?!” I exclaimed with a grin. “Obviously, Blaise just wanted an excuse to touch my ass," I chuckled.
I couldn't dwell in their thoughtfulness. I already struggled with my attraction to the Bullets, but when they did stuff like this, I fell even harder.
"Well," Blaise began. I could hear the smile in his tone. "It worked, didn't it?"
Chapter Thirteen
Present Day
* * *
The ride back to Gavriel’s beach house was uneventful, but I noticed a sleek, black Range Rover following us. When we pulled up to the gate, two men in suits followed us up the drive on foot with rifles hanging across their chests.
When he turned off the bike, he swung his leg over and helped me off. “Who were those guys following us?” I asked, my teeth still chattering from the rumbling bike.
“My security detail,” Gav replied with a shrug. “You don’t make it to the top without making some enemies.” I assumed as much, but something about Gavriel’s terse lips said that there was more to the story than he was telling me.
“I have work to do. We’re going to Ryker’s fight tonight. Be ready no later than six.” Gavriel then escaped down the hall and into an office, shutting the door behind him.
I gaped at the closed office door, considering hiding. Of all the guys, Ryker was the one I was most nervous about seeing again.
I made my way back into the kitchen and stood at a window. I looked outside without actually seeing the moving ocean in the distance. I knew in my gut that Ryker would hate me for what I did. The night before I left, he opened up to me. He told me how everyone in his life always hurt him.
I promised him I'd never leave—and then I left.
I felt a hand on my shoulder and turned to face Blaise. “You okay?” he asked. “You were gone when I woke up this morning.”
I wrapped my arms around his neck, lifting up to kiss his cheek. He smelled like coffee. “Yeah, I’m good. Gav took me out to breakfast.” Blaise’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. I saw the questions in his stare but shook my head. I wasn’t ready to divulge what we discussed, and it felt like it would be intruding on Gavriel’s trust.
“Looks like we’re going to a fight tonight,” I said.
Blaise gave me a mischievous smile. He must have been thinking back to the night I snuck out and went to the Bullet fight. "You know I love a good fight night," he said with a smirk. He dragged his eyes up and down my body, and I felt a shiver at his heated gaze.
"I didn't get to enjoy the last one I went to. Damn cops busted it," I replied with a small wink. Blaise chuckled and leaned closer, pressing his forehead against mine.
"Am I a bastard if I say I'm not looking forward to you seeing Ryker?" I was thankful for his honesty, but it still hurt. "I mean," he quickly added. "I know I'm your favorite and all, but I still remember that night. It nearly tore us all apart."
I squeezed my eyes shut as the onslaught of memories assaulted me. The Jamesons’ houseboat. The loud music outside. The way Ryker worshipped my body. I’d lost my virginity to Ryker the night before I ran away.
"You've always been ours," Blaise said, bringing me out of my memories. I knew he was right. Even from the beginning, I belonged to all of them. "I just think Ryker struggles the most with that concept."
I looked back up at Blaise and cocked my brow. With everything going on, was he insinuating what I thought he was? Just a couple nights ago, he was complaining that Gavriel would consume my attention.
"I know what you're thinking," Blaise began with a coy smile. "Yeah, sure. I was a little hesitant about you and Gavriel. But I learned something about myself last night."
"And what was that?" I asked. I felt the heat flush on my chest and cheeks as he bit his lip. His eyes sunk lower, and he pointedly stared at my chest with obvious interest.
"What Gavriel did was awful, don't get me wrong. But it was hot as fuck. God, I can't get your moans out of my head. I think I like watching. Maybe it’s a kink?" I waited for the inevitable teasing laughter to erupt from his plump lips, but it never came. He was serious.
My mind went back to the night we “broke in” to Chesterbrook High and how he stared hungrily at Ryker and me exchanging smoke.
"Don't stress, Sunshine," he began, tearing me out of my daydream. "You’ve got a lot on your plate right now, and you don't need us comparing dick sizes to add to it. Do what you need to do to feel better. Five years is a long time, and I understand that we all need to reconnect in our own ways at our own pace. Besides, I know for a fact my dick is the biggest, so I'm not too concerned on that front." Blaise winked, and I jokingly pushed at his shoulder before wrapping him in a big hug.
"Are you sure?" I asked. It felt odd, asking his permission when we'd only reacquainted a couple days ago. We'd never established a label or rules, but I still wanted to be respectful of his heart.
Blaise gave me a small smile before grabbing my hand and leading me towards the kitchen counter. "That my dick is the biggest? Absolutely,” he joked with a chuckle. “Sunshine, there's something you should know," he began while slipping his hands around my hips, clasping tightly. He then lifted me up, and as I sat there on the counter, staring deeply into his eyes, heat flooded my cheeks.
"Not having you in my life? It sucks hard. Before anything else, we were friends. Good friends." His voice was tender as he stepped closer between my legs. "You told me that you wanted it all, so I'm going to do everything in my power to give that to you. I just want you to be happy."
My heart warmed. Blaise was truly trying. It was something I'd come to expect from my determined, brave, confident friend. But I didn't want him feeling responsible or burdened with the task of making me happy.
"You know I didn't leave because I was unhappy, right?" I asked, watching his expression. “I know the timing sucked, but I didn’t leave because of you.”
"I'm starting to see that," Blaise replied, and I was thankful that he didn't take this opportunity to prod me more about it. "But I have five years of seeing your smile to catch up on, which means I'm going to do everything I can to give you what you need."
My heart filled with love for Blaise. He rarely spoke of his feelings, which made his determined words more impactful.
"Will you help me pick out an outfit?" I asked in a whisper while hopping off the counter. I was too embarrassed to admit that I wanted to look good for my reunion with Ryker. He drifted his hands along my back until they were grabbing my butt. He then squeezed and lightly nibbled along my neck, leaving a trail of bites to my collarbone. "Abso-fucking-lutely," he replied.
I argued with Blaise for half an hour over the outfit choices he picked. The initial ones were pure lingerie. I didn't want to arrive naked—despite his encouragement—so we settled on a leather mini skirt, zip up corset top, and black leather jacket. I did, however, try on each outfit for him. I enjoyed watching his hooded eyes as I slowly changed in and out of the slinky lingerie he set out. My sensitive skin tingled as I went through each outfit. I’m sure if Gavriel’s guards weren’t patrolling the hallway outside, my little strip tease would have turned into more.
After a shower, I curled my hair and wondered when I could get rid of the blond highlights. Now that I was under Gavriel's protection, I didn't think it was as necessary as before. A part of giving him control meant that I had to trust him. And a part of trusting him meant that I'd have to stop hiding.
"I wish I could see Ryker's face when he gets a good eyeful of you in that getup." Blaise traced his fingers along my ankle as we lay in bed, watching TV. A couple of hours ago, we decided that it would be best if he didn't go. Ryker was intense. Although he and Blaise got along well, they butted heads under pressure. Blaise coped with jokes and Ryker coped with silence.
"I doubt he will even remember me," I said, knowing full well that was a lie.
"Is this your way of fishing for compliments? If you need me to tell you how beautiful you look, all you have to do is ask.” I threw a pillow at Blaise and giggled before he continued speaking. “And if you need reassurance that Ryker remembers you, then all you have to do is look at the tattoo on his back."
I furrowed my brow in confusion as Blaise handed me his phone. He'd pulled up a web search of Ryker, and I gasped when I realized just how popular he was in the fight scene. Pages and pages of images filled the tiny screen. I clicked on one, and my chest tightened when I saw his tattoo. There, on his back, was a large sun with boxing gloves in the center. At the base of the rising sun was a gun, and when I zoomed in on the image, I saw a single word in script along the barrel: Sunshine.
"I think I seriously have a problem," Blaise joked, drawing me out of my astonishments. “I'm getting hot just thinking about all the ways he's going to fuck you. You think he’s into spanking? I’d love to see him mark up that glorious ass of yours. Are you sure I can’t go?”
I pushed at Blaise’s chest and laughed while shoving my worries and insecurities to the back of my mind. How on earth was I going to face the man I promised to never leave?
Gavriel valued timeliness, so I made sure to arrive downstairs in the kitchen five minutes before six. He took in my flustered appearance and tight skirt, but the only reaction he had was a slight lip twitch. "Well," I began. Drops of nervous sweat slid down my temple, and I swiped them away. "Let's get going." I began strolling towards the door when Gavriel's hand jetted out and clasped around my wrist. He pulled me back towards his chest and, with his free hand, brushed his thumb along my glossy lip.
"Do you remember what I said this morning?" he asked. His breath smelled like cinnamon and vanilla, and it took everything I had not to inhale his scent.
"Yes," I replied.
"Yes, what?" Gavriel asked. I watched his face for any sign of amusement but saw none.
"Yes, sir," I replied. My voice went husky at the verbal submission. I questioned why the idea of being controlled by Gavriel was so appealing to me. He was rough and brutal, but even with five years of distance, I trusted him with my life. We still had a lot to learn about each other, but there was still the undeniable truth that Gavriel cared for me.
"You'll do whatever I say. No questions asked."
I nodded my head in understanding then shivered when I felt his erection pressing through his pants and on my stomach. If we didn't leave now, we never would. I slowly snaked out of his grip, making sure to brush against his hard cock with my palm while pulling away. His black eyes ignited, and his clenched fist made me wonder if he was forcing himself to stand still.
“What did you do all day?” I asked before mentally slapping myself. Really? I might as well ask about the weather next.
Gavriel’s lips quirked. “I called one of my weapon manufacturers in Germany. They seem to think they need additional funds to fulfill an order I placed. I also called my sister and made plans for a room to be prepared for you at my penthouse in New York. We’re leaving LA after this weekend.”
I leaned against the marble countertop and cocked my head to the side. “Why’d we come here anyway?” I asked.
“Ryker lives here. I t
ry to attend every fight.”
“I thought you hated him,” I said while trying to voice the confusion I felt about their dynamic. I got a front row seat to their brutal hatred the morning after Ryker and I had sex.
“Yes well, he broke the rules,” Gavriel explained before turning around to face the sink. He turned the faucet on, the sounds of rushing water filling the space.
“The rules?” I asked, knowing full well what he was referencing. Gavriel told the Bullets to stay away from me.
He started washing his hands, prolonging the long, awkward silence. Gavriel turned off the water and towel dried his hands before facing me again. He crossed his arms over his chest, and I gave him a challenging stare. He looked tough as stone. The room felt hot as we both dared the other to say out loud the unspoken tension between us.
“Did I ever tell you about the day Ryker came to the Jamesons?” Gavriel asked, ignoring my question. He didn’t wait for me to respond. “He showed up at four a.m., beat to bloody hell. Broken rib. Broken nose. Cuts along his back, and black eyes. Someone fucked him up, and by looking at the other scars on him, it wasn’t his first time to have the shit beat out of him.”
I put my hand on my lips while shutting my eyes, imagining the pain Ryker endured. “Mrs. Jameson got him a room, and I remember the first time we spoke." Gav lifted his hand up, jetting out his thumb. "I took my finger and dug it into his side, right at the break in his rib.” A shadow crossed Gavriel’s face as he remembered that moment. Was Gavriel always this brutal and I just didn’t see it?
“I said, 'We have two rules. I’m in charge, and don’t touch Sunshine.’ He moaned like a little bitch until the pain was too much.” Gavriel walked up to me with a scowl. It wasn’t until we were chest to chest and his hot breath was coating my skin that he continued.
“He broke the rules.”
Chapter Fourteen