I haven’t seen Ace since Friday after what happened during Macallan’s class, and tonight, I finally get to see Drake, so I decide no costume is the way to go. This based on the uncertainty of whether or not Drake and I still qualify as a couple after the argument we had, and the fact that I can’t seem to stop making out with Ace. I’m honestly not sure I’m even going to attend. The theme’s stupid, just an excuse to be dressed pretty much naked, wrapped in sheets and foliage. I don’t believe in any gods, and have enough monsters inside me, no need to transform into one. I head into the living room where Jade and Stella sit watching one of the Halloween movies. I walk over to the couch and sit beside Jade stealing some popcorn out of her bowl.
“Which one is this?”
“The first one of course, it’s the best one. There’s something about Michael,” she says, biting her lip.
Stella and I turn to each other, a confused look on our faces.
“Must be because he reminds you of a certain silver eyed giant,” I say referring to Bass who stands well over six feet, and her obvious attraction to him.
She glares at me, a slight blush creeping on her cheeks. That gets me a handful of popcorn kernels to the head. Stella and I start laughing causing her to throw more.
“Don’t waste the snacks,” I shout, chuckling.
“Come to think of it, my cousin is pretty mysterious and broody, always sulking around, permanent scowl plastered on his perfect face,” says Stella, smirking at Jade.
“I wouldn’t know,” she answers back. “I don’t pay much attention to him.”
At Jade’s blatant lie Stella and I start laughing hysterically.
“Yeah right, just like Stella isn’t majorly crushing on Kai,” I say, raising a brow at her.
“Hey, leave me out of it. Besides, it’s not as bad as your denial about you and Ace totally happening.”
I glare at her, deciding to drop the conversation not wanting to admit the number of times I’ve kissed Ace.
“Whatever, I’m gonna go shower,” I say, getting up and heading toward the bathroom. As I enter the hall, I can hear them giggling and whispering, “I told you she wants him,” and fuck, they might just be right.
Heading to my closet after my long shower, I decide on a pair of old black, ripped jeans, some high-waist fishnets that will peek out above my jeans and through the holes on the legs, and a black cropped, strapless shirt. I pair the outfit with my black laced boots, a jean jacket, black winged liner, and a dark lipstick, looking like I stepped out of a 90’s grunge magazine. My black hair falls slick down my back, ending right under my jacket. It’s probably cold out but I figure it’s worth the risk. I’m spraying my cherry blossom and vanilla body spray when I hear a loud knock on my window, sounding as if something has hit it. I slowly make my way over and see Drake standing in the grass looking up at me. I can’t help but smile at the sight of him. He nods his head and signals for me to come down. Grabbing my cell phone and shoving it in my jacket pocket I walk out of my room and out of the building.
As I step outside a cold breeze hits my chest causing me to shiver slightly. It’s about 8 o’clock, the sun is now set, the cold October breeze rustling through the trees. I turn and see Drake standing by a tree at the far end of the yard, and make my way over to him nervously, remembering how we left things the last time we were together. His back is to me, a hand running through his dark hair, a cigarette in the other. He brings the cig to his mouth blowing out a cloud of smoke as I approach.
“Smoking kills,” I say as I come up beside him. I hear him laugh slightly but he doesn’t turn toward me.
“Wishful thinking,” he replies, passing it to me. I take it, bringing it to my mouth inhaling and blowing out my own cloud of smoke. I know smoking is gross, a bad habit, but it’s one I could get away with.
“What are you doing here, Dragon?”
He turns his head to me unsure of what I mean.
“Came to talk,” he says nonchalantly.
I take another hit of the cig looking up into the night sky. It’s so peaceful out here, despite the fact there is a raging party occurring not even two miles away.
“You know I’m no good at that,” I answer.
He places a hand on my chin tilting my head up to look at him. His eyes are glossy and red rimmed as if he were smoking something else before coming here.
“Then hear me out.” He leans into me, his lips gently caressing mine. He smells of smoke, weed, and something else. Something musky, something completely him. I lean into him placing my arms around his neck, bringing him in closer as I open my mouth for him, and our tongues begin dancing together.
“Dragon, please,” I whisper. At my words he stops, pulling away from me.
“I’m sorry, I just,” he grins and shakes his head. Taking a step back he runs both hands through his hair and begins laughing sardonically. “It’s him, isn’t it,” he says, shaking his head.
“What?” I ask, but I know what he’s saying, the look in his eyes gives it away.
“What happened between the two of you? Why does he look at you as if he knows you?”
“Drake, don’t,” I say, stepping toward him.
“What happened to us, Scar? You used to tell me things, confide in me. I’ve always been there for you. Never judged you. This fucker comes around, treating you like shit, and you start hiding things from me, keeping secrets. Why him?”
His eyes are now low and glossier than before. It breaks something inside of me to see my fierce dragon this way. Broken, confused, full of sorrow. I need to tell him everything. My past with Agent Servite, my mom, everything that’s happened with Ace. It’s not fair to keep him in the dark. He’s right, he’s always been there for me. It’s my turn to be there for him. So I turn to face him.
“Walk with me, Dragon, I’ll tell you everything.”
TWENTY
SCARLETT
We head over to the right side of the private beach, on the opposite side of where I’m sure the party is in full swing now, an eerie silence flowing through the air. I sent Jade a text when we left saying that Drake and I were going to skip the party tonight to hang out and talk. And like I imagined, she texts back a winking emoji along with the eggplant. I can’t help but chuckle when I open her text and Drake looks up to me at my laugh.
“Anything you wanna share?” he says sternly, and it pisses me off that he’s assuming it’s Ace. I roll my eyes and turn my head staring toward the vast ocean before us.
We choose a spot on the sand, closest to the water and sit. It’s gotten windier since earlier, so I cross my arms to try and warm up. Drake turns his head to me and notices I’ve gotten cold, so he slips off his black hoodie, exposing the silky skin of his tattooed abdomen under his black t-shirt. I bite my lip as he pulls it over his head, handing it to me as I slip off my jean jacket. I slip into his hoodie and lay my jacket on the sand beside me. I turn to look at him and he’s staring off into the night sky looking toward the ocean that looks almost black except for the small gleam of the crescent moon. He doesn’t ask again, doesn’t pressure me to talk right away but I need to let it out.
“As you know, a little over three years ago, the day Jade and I first got to the foster house, a bunch of Hillcrest police officers and a detective barged into our house early in the morning. They were looking for Lilith, my mom, and Chaz, Jade’s dad. We knew they weren’t home because we had been looking for them too.”
He continues to stare forward nodding slightly at my words but not making eye contact. He knows I don’t open up very easily and I think this is his way of giving me the space to do it at my own pace.
“The detective in charge told us that they were suspected of three armed robberies and the murder of the Hillcrest Hills mayor. We swore we didn’t know where they were and shortly after a child services agent came to take us. But not before the detective interrogated us and made us, made me, feel terrified and uncomfortable.” I swallow h
ard before my next words. “The detective was Agent Servite,” I say, and he turns to me immediately. I can see he didn’t expect me to say that.
“I swear, Scarlett, if he did anything,” he says, a raging anger clouding his haze covered eyes.
“Nothing more than scare the shit out of me and threaten that I’d pay for my mother’s crimes if they didn’t find her.”
He stares angrily, confused at my words.
“I hadn’t seen him or heard from him since that day until he showed up at the Grayson’s with the headmaster the day they kicked us out. But he looked at me the same way he had that first day. A mixture of lust and hate, anger. I can’t describe it, but he made me feel dirty, guilty like I had something to hide. The day we arrived at the academy, when he pulled me aside, he asked if I’d had any contact with my mother. Apparently, she’s fallen off the face of the earth. He pulled me aside and whispered some dirty, crass things to me that proved there’s more to the reason we’re here. That I’m here. He knows my mother. He knows her more than I thought he did. He knows her intimately.”
“Scar, you should have told me,” he says reaching out to me.
“I didn’t even tell Jade. Not until last weekend when,” I stop and turn away from him.
He reaches over to me, picking me up and pulling me into his lap. He uses his right hand to cup my chin and turn it towards him as his left arm wraps around my waist. He brings my lips to his once more whispering against them.
“Scarlett, you can tell me anything, you know that, right? I won’t blame you, won’t judge you. You were right the other day, you don’t owe me anything.”
I kiss his lips at his words and lose myself in the kiss. It’s intense, passionate, volatile. His lips fit perfectly in mine as they caress each other in a sensual dance. I bring my hands to his shoulders, gripping them and deepening the kiss, moving myself to straddle him. My legs now over his allow me to feel his thickness rubbing against me. He groans in my mouth at our contact only making me move faster against him. He wraps his hand around my waist, moving it up my back and back down again landing on my ass. I’m so vulnerable, so exposed. I pull away slightly, the two of us gasping for air. I look in his dark green eyes and see a look of distress. He needs me to make him feel like he’s the only one for me. To make him feel needed. Wanted. I need to give him this.
“My loyal dragon, my fierce protector. If only you knew what I did, you wouldn’t look at me the same way. Kiss me the same way. Like you need me to survive.”
“Scar, anything you did. I don’t care. I’m not a saint in all of this, never have been, never claimed to be. Just tell me what happened, that’s all I ask. It can’t be worse than what I imagine.”
“That night after the Saint and Sinners party, I didn’t text you that I wasn’t feeling okay. It was him. Ace. He hacked my phone. He’s done it before. I don’t know how, but I went out to meet you and he was there instead.”
I decide to skip over the details of him drugging me and tying me to a chair. I know that would make Drake furious and I don’t want him to do something that can get him kicked out of the academy or worse.
“He took me into the beach house and his uncle was there waiting. Agent Servite. Jade somehow followed me and when she got there, Servite made me tell her everything. I hadn’t said anything to her because I didn’t want her to worry. Just before we left, he talked to me alone and pretty much told me I had to help him get in contact with my mom or…”
“Or what, Scar?” he asks angrily, his eyes flaring as his breathing rapidly increases.
“He threatened you guys, all of you. Said that he’d find a way to get you guys kicked out. I can’t risk that. You don’t deserve being put in danger because of me.”
“Scar, come on. When have we ever cared what happens to us? You can’t work with him, he’s dangerous, and an asshole and fucking creepy as hell. He wants you. I can see it in his eyes when he looks at you, the same way Ace does.”
“That same night, as I was leaving, Ace…”
“Don’t,” he says, interrupting me. “You don’t have to tell me. I know I said I wanted to know, but I don’t think I do. Just tell me, have you and he…?”
“It was just a kiss, Dragon Man. You’re still the only one,” I say, and he grins wide. I punch his arm and he laughs, looking like a kid who just found out they can have candy.
“Ouch, Scar, that hurt.”
“Take that smug grin off your face, Dragon.”
“I can’t help it, Scar. I’m glad he hasn’t touched you, touched what’s mine.”
“I warned you about saying that, Dragon. We were right before to not jump into anything. This thing between us won’t end well. We’re reckless together.”
“But it’s true, Scar, you’re mine. Always will be no matter what. And so what if it doesn’t end well, so what if it ends today, next week, or years from now. You are my best friend, my family. No matter what. But right now you’re mine. And I plan to take advantage of that for as long as I can.”
He pulls me toward him and kisses me again. His arms wrap around my waist inside his hoodie. His hands move up slowly as he tugs on the sweater pulling it over my head. It’s still cold out but our body heat is heating my core setting me ablaze. I reach over to him, down to his waist pulling his shirt over his head as well. Once it’s off I push him down and his back slams against the sand. He lets out a small grunt followed by a wicked grin as he bites his lip. I place my hands on the sand beside his head and stare into his lust filled eyes. They’re dark green and full of desire, full of need. He needs this, needs us to be together. I’ve always known Drake to hide his past and issues from the world but with me he’s always been himself. He needs to show me that he’s all in. He needs me to show him I’m his.
“You ready for me?” I say, smirking back at him, and the sexiest grin appears on his face.
“Ride me, baby. Ride your dragon,” he says, and I lose it.
I reach down to unbutton his jeans as he quickly reaches to undo mine, our fingers moving at lightning speed. I stand up slightly to pull my jeans down my legs kicking them off beside him and he does the same to his, pulling them down below his ass. This reminds me of our first time, which was also on the beach back home. I was nervous, as was he, both not knowing what to expect. He was my first, but I also was his. We took it nice and slow our first time, not wanting to rush the moment, rush the feeling. But unlike that first time, the crazed look in his eyes makes my heart accelerate beyond relief. I need him, and I need him now. I look down as his dick springs free of his boxers, hard and ready for me. I run my tongue along my bottom lip as I bend down and lick the tip of his cock as he growls causing me to laugh.
“Scar, fuck, I need to be inside you,” he mumbles, his head falling back onto the sand.
“So eager, Dragon Man,” I whisper.
He looks up at me and fuck if it doesn’t make me wet. The way he looks at me is enough to make me come here and now without the slightest touch of his hands. I’m ready for him. I position myself above him lining his dick up with my entrance as I lower myself down slowly. I can feel him stretching me as I take him in deeper. I got on birth control shortly after Drake and I slept together for the first time. Mrs. Grayson took me to the local clinic after she walked in on Jade and I talking about it once. She knew she couldn’t forbid us from having sex, but she wanted to make sure we were careful and didn’t end up doing something we’d later regret. Pregnant at seventeen like my mother was high up on my to-don’t-list.
I increase my speed, moving faster against him as he reaches up cupping my breasts in his hands, squeezing my nipples already bringing me close to my climax. He moves his hips forward meeting me with every thrust.
“Fuck, Scar,” he says as he quickly flips us around, crashing my back into the sand as he lowers his body above me.
“Keep going, Dragon, fuck faster,” I moan, curving my back off the sand as he continues to drive into me
over and over, until my core contracts around him.
“Fuck,” he groans and he’s right there with me. He kisses me softly pulling me onto him as he lies back, and for some inexplicable reason this feels like a goodbye. Bittersweet.
My cheek is resting against him, listening to the steady rise and fall of his chest, the thumping of his heartbeat. And this feels like all I should need. My loyal companion here for me, not judging me or turning his back on me after the things I’ve done to deserve it. He’s still here, making me feel like I’m the only thing that matters to him. And here I am saying I’ll give him the one and only thing I know I can never give. Myself. I’m too jaded to be able to completely put my trust and love into another. I gave it all to the one person that was never supposed to take it for granted. A mother’s love is supposed to be like no other. But mine, well let’s say I’m better off. How can I trust that he won’t do the same? That he’ll be able to value it, safeguard it. No, it’s better off locked away deep inside of me with no key to unlock it. A seal proof safe, not even the most wicked of thieves could crack.
We lay together on the sand for what feels like hours. It isn’t till about 2 a.m. when we finally head back to the Dahlia House and say our goodbyes. Instead of slipping my jeans back on I wear Drake’s hoodie like a dress and carry my jacket and jeans in my hand. Back at the girls’ house he kisses me goodnight before heading back over to Astor House. I quietly sneak back into our quarter and into my room without being seen. Grabbing a pair of shorts and a white tee, I head over to the bathroom and shoot Jade a quick text letting her know I’m home before jumping in the shower.
The Four Horsemen : A Servite Academy For Troubled Teens Novel Page 19