Guts & Glass

  I force deep, subtle inhales through my nose and out through a tiny part in my lips. His lips pull at one corner, amusement settling into his features. I’ve never been a good actress. My drama teacher told me it’s because I’m not willing to wear my heart on my sleeve, that I refuse to be vulnerable and throw caution to the wind—not even for a second. On my report, she said I was too insecure, that I was incapable of putting myself in someone else’s shoes. She was right, of course. I never enjoyed drama because I was a terrible liar, and that’s all it was to me. A lie. I didn’t want to be the happy high school student or whatever the role called for me to be. I didn’t want to plaster a fake smile on my face and speak the lines fed to me. I couldn’t lie.

  But now I have to.

  I have to act and lie my ass off to keep Laura from kicking Monique’s ass.

  I tip my head on an angle, slipping my hands onto my hips, as Skull lowers his head, peering down his nose at me, an inkling of curiosity in his black gaze.

  “I never would have guessed female tears were your weakness.”

  His expression lights up and he straightens his head. “It’s not the tears. It’s the annoying sobbing and wailing that accompanies them.”

  Pushing off the door, he meanders closer to me, his shoes tapping the tiles beneath him. The closer he gets, the taller he looks, and I immediately back away, a tremble starting in my hands.

  “You lied to me, Kitty-Cat,” he says, his voice smooth and calm.

  “I didn’t lie to you.” My back hits the basin cupboard, but Skull presses forward until his frame is against mine.

  I tense every muscle in my body as he slides a warm index finger under my chin and lifts my face to his. I swallow hard, my face warmed by the skitter of his breath.

  “You lied to me.” He enunciates this time, just in case I didn’t understand.

  “The whole thing was my idea.”

  “No, it wasn’t. It reeks of Monique.”

  “I told her what to—”

  “—shut your mouth!” he snaps, snatching my lips between his rough fingers. “No more lies.”

  He squeezes and I wince, jerking my head back and freeing myself from his pinch. I rake my teeth over my lower lip to ease the burn.

  “Monique has you fooled, doesn’t she?” He chuckles, taking a step back.

  “Fooled?” What is he talking about?

  Skull turns his back to me and takes two steps away. I breathe easier in the small space he allows me, but it doesn’t last long. He twirls and saunters back in my direction. “Yes, fooled. Oh, she might look like an angel, but she is far from innocent.”

  “She’s nineteen,” I point out. “She’s barely an adult.”

  “But she is fierce.” He grins at me, leaning his body against mine again. “Put it this way, if I left you two in a room, naked, filled to the brim with my hungry, starving men, I’d put my money on her making it out alive. Not you.”

  I scowl, pressing my fists into his chest and pushing against him. “You think I’m that weak?”

  “Weak? Not by any means. Not like Laura is, but you’re not Monique.” He leans closer and I wince as my back digs into the sharp edge of the counter. “Why do you think that, unlike Jai, Joel spends more time chastising her about her behavior than he does worrying about her safety? Joel knows as well as I do how crazy that little bitch is.”

  I frown. Has Monique been playing me this whole time?

  “I thought she changed when I got her back. I thought Joel might’ve finally slapped some sense into her. I’ve never seen her so compliant, so easy to be controlled, but today proves she’s still the same little psycho deep down. So…” he simpers, grabbing me from behind my thighs.

  A quiet worry tugs at my heart and I suck in a breath as he lifts me. I grab onto the lapels of his pinstriped jacket, forcing my legs around his waist to keep myself from falling. The buckle to his belt digs into the sensitive flesh between my legs and I hate that it makes my entire body coil tightly.

  Skull sits me on the edge of the bathroom counter, but he doesn’t slip out from between my legs, even though I’ve lowered them from his waist.

  “Tell me what really happened.”

  Fine. If I can’t play the role of the instigator, then I’ll have to play the role of the victim, the unaware bystander who was forced to go along with the surge.

  “I…I tried to talk her out of it.”

  He lifts a fine eyebrow and I realize I’ve never noticed them before. They’re perfectly manicured.

  “And why would you do that?” he asks, his voice full of doubt much like his face.

  I stare into his soulless eyes, eyes that are encompassed by black circles and split by a darkened nose. Would he be as terrifying to talk to if he wasn’t covered in so much ink?

  “Because I made a promise to you.” Nervousness eats at me, drying my mouth. “I promised I wouldn’t cause you anymore trouble.”

  “You’ve broken that promise a few times.”

  I shake my head. “Not this time.”

  “Why should I believe you?”

  “Because you asked me not to lie to you.”

  Skull plants his hands against the gunmetal stone counter either side of my thighs and brushes his thumbs against them. “You’re going to have to give me more to go off than that.”

  More? I’m giving him more in this short exchange than I have the whole time I’ve been here. Isn’t that enough? His lips twitch, the tattooed teeth on and around his mouth moving for a split second. No. Of course it isn’t enough. He still thinks I’m lying. I can see it in his eyes. He’s going to push me until my façade cracks. Unfortunately for him, my desire to spare my “psychotic” little friend an ass beating is far greater than my desire to spit in his face and demand he get the fuck away from me.

  Swallowing my pride, my disgust, I inch forward, my attention flicking to his awful mouth, and I kiss him on the corner of his lips, right where they twitched. Skull tightens against me, his whole body squeezing.

  “I am compliant,” I whisper, moving my lips over and touching them softly against the center of his. “I want to be…for you.”

  My heart batters my ribs. I want to squeeze my eyes closed until it’s over, but I keep them open to drive my performance home. I can’t be afraid of him right now. I can’t let the sickness I feel in the pit of my stomach manifest on my face, no matter how bad it churns.

  His hands move from the counter to the tops of my thighs. Ever so slowly, he glides his palms up, pushing the satin, and I know it’s a test. “I don’t know what game you’re playing…”

  Holding my breath, I touch my palms to his chest and slide them up to his shoulders before finally letting out a subtle exhale. “No games. Just a favor to ask.”

  “Laura wants her revenge.”

  I shrug. “Big deal. We’re not hers.” It takes all the strength I have not to gag out the next sentence. “We’re yours.”

  We’re yours. Yours. My defiant soul dies a little.

  “You hate me,” he points out. Pulling the robe apart he exposes my thighs. “You hate it here.”

  I glance down and…my skin is stained with blood. The guard’s blood. I was so caught up in the mess I didn’t realize. It’s bright against my pale skin. I shudder as nausea rolls through me as my skin begins to itch.

  “It’s not so bad here.” I lift my gaze to meet his and doubt flickers over his features again. I appease it with a small smile. “You were right the other day. You do spoil me. I like playing cat and mouse with you. It gets me hot.”

  Don’t grimace. Don’t gag. Don’t puke.

  “But if Jai finds out…” I murmur, real tears welling in my eyes at the mention of his name and the guilt it strikes deep inside me. Maybe this isn’t worth it. Throwing Jai’s feelings and our relationship under the bus in order to spare Monique? “If he finds out…”

  Skull swallows the distance between us and crushes his mouth to mine. I squeeze my eyes shut as a lump forms i
n my throat. I ball my fists and press them against his chest. Surely convincing myself that kissing Skull isn’t hard should be easy for me? I mean, I’ve kissed people I didn’t enjoy kissing before and I’ve willingly had sex with someone even though I knew I wouldn’t enjoy it. This is like that. If playing nice with Skull is what I have to do, then I can’t think about anything—or anyone—else. This is where I put my plan into motion and use Laura’s jealousy against her by manipulating Skull’s attraction to me. I’m done trying to escape. How many failed attempts have there been now? I need Laura to be so mad she lets me out of here.

  Gently exhaling out of my nose, I force myself to open my fists and touch him with willing hands. Surprisingly, Skull doesn’t push to slip his tongue into my mouth, nor does he grope me. Instead, he breaks the kiss and I let out an unintentional sigh of relief. I don’t think he notices. My eyes flutter open and I stare back into the dusky, hooded eyes that watch me.

  “Ask me your favor.”

  I lick my lips. “Can you let Monique off just this once…please?”

  He tilts his head on an angle, his eyes thinning to survey me. I flick my attention between both of them, trying to get a read on his expression. Air cools against my abdomen and I peer down. When did he undo my robe belt? When he was kissing me?

  “How far are you willing to go to help her?”

  I inhale through my nose, filling my lungs to capacity, and reach for the robe fabric against my chest. Exhaling, I curl my fingers around the hemline. Skull lowers his gaze, his eyes darkening as I pull the fabric apart, exposing my black lace bra. Thankfully, its pattern is intricate enough to conceal my nipples. He notices this too, and I tense as he lifts his hands to the tiny metal clasp at the front. I worry my lower lip between my teeth, and as his fingers tug at the clasp, I focus on the far wall over his shoulder. My breasts become heavy when the support of the bra is taken away and my nipples harden in the cool air of the bathroom. I swallow and slow my breathing, desperate to calm my racing heart. His jacket brushes against my sensitive peaks as he moves his face in front of mine, our eyes locking.

  “You’re really not going to fight me, are you?” he asks, a hint of confusion in his tone.

  “I’m tired of fighting you.”

  And that’s not a lie. I’m so goddamn tired. I don’t think I have much fight left in me.

  Skull snaps forward, swallowing up the distance between our mouths. He grips the back of my head in one hand and presses against the curve of my ass with the other. I barely have time to register the contact before he slips his tongue between my lips and mint and berry flavors flood my taste buds. I make a tight noise in the base of my throat—one of disgust—but he interprets it differently. Grunting, he tugs me forward and I gasp into his mouth as my backside teeters on the edge of the counter. For safety, I clench his slim hips between my thighs and cling to his shoulders.

  At the feel of his mouth on mine, I contemplate bailing on my performance all together, but the courage I need to push him away doesn’t surface.

  So I persist.

  I move my tongue against his for the first time ever and, despite Skull being Skull, he’s not a horrible kisser. I hate that he makes it so tolerable and—dare I say—pleasant.

  Skull breaks the kiss by sucking my lower lip into his mouth and raking his teeth over the soft flesh. I hiss as one of his teeth slices the skin and he plants a quick kiss to soothe it. I open my eyes and stare at the wall again as he trails his lips along my jaw and down my neck. I’m thankful the mirror is behind me and I don’t have to watch him defile me. I’m not sure who would be more horrific to look at, him or me.

  “Did you touch him when you were down there?” he mutters against my skin, his hot breath blowing along the length of my collar bone as he glides his palms down the underside of my thighs. “Did you kiss him?”

  My lips tingle at the thought of Jai’s mouth on mine—of his skin on mine—and my muscles loosen. I’d give anything for him to be the one between my thighs right now. I’d give anything to have his saliva on my lips, not Skull’s.

  “I…” I think about my answer, and while I do, I move a hand up the back of Skull’s neck and caress his head. I could lie, but what if there were cameras? “Yes.”

  I tip my head back as he moves his mouth north of my collar bone, to my throat. My breath hitches as he traces it with his tongue, sending sensational ripples down my spine. I shiver, making another tight noise in my throat. This time, I’m not sure it’s disgust. How is he doing it? How is he getting this reaction out of me?

  “How’d it feel?”

  It felt how it has always felt with Jai.

  Incredible.

  Right.

  Safe.

  My blood warms to Skull’s provocation. I find myself pushing my body against his as he tastes my flesh and caresses my thighs with gentle fingers. There’s a thrumming between my legs I never noticed until now, until I started thinking about Jai.

  “Good.” I sigh, flexing my hips against him, desperate to find the firm point of his belt buckle to rub against. “He always makes me feel really good.”

  Skull chuckles darkly. “Oh, yeah? I want to see it. I want to see him make you feel good.”

  What is he saying? Is this a test? He slides a finger right to the apex of my thighs and I gasp, jolting against him as his finger swipes over my lace covered clit. Jesus. There’s so much pressure there, so much built up tension. Skull lifts his head and I stare into his intense eyes. I’ve never seen them burn so brightly. His eyes aren’t black like oil at all. They’re a brilliant brown, like dark toffee. I swallow hard with a gulp as he slips his finger under the hem and glides it along my slit. Shuddering, I press my forehead against his and, for the first time, Skull’s breath hitches, a sign that maybe he’s not as in control as he likes to think he is.

  “Just the thought of him makes you wet, doesn’t it?”

  I catch my lower lip between my teeth and nod, our noses touching. That’s how he’s doing it. He’s using my mind against me. He’s using my attraction to Jai as a fluffer and it’s working. I wonder if he realizes that it’s the thought of Jai that’s arousing me, not his touch. Skull can have my body as much as he wants, but Jai has my mind and my heart, and Skull can’t touch those.

  “I want to be there. I want us both to be inside you when he makes you come.”

  My stomach turns at the thought of Jai being present when I entertain Skull like this. He would hate it. He would lose his mind.

  “He won’t share with you, Damien. He won’t share with anyone.”

  With a simper, he pushes his index finger inside my body and grabs me by the back of the neck, forcing my forehead harder against his. He twists his finger, pushing it all the way in, making my lips part as disgust burrows painfully in my stomach.

  “He’ll share with me or watch as I take you for myself.” He adds a second finger and I moan—fake—and close my eyes. “I’ve waited a long time for you to be willing to have me. If that means I have to drag your beau up from the cell to partake, so be it.”

  I’d agree to his threesome only to murder him and feel Jai’s naked body again, to hear his groans of pleasure and ragged breathing in my ear as he takes me. Having Skull there would only tarnish everything Jai and I experience together.

  He slowly pumps his fingers in and out of me, curling them on just the right angle. On second thought, maybe having Skull and Jai in the same room isn’t a bad idea. I wouldn’t have to depend on Laura’s jealousy then. Jai could hurt Skull and free us. Tonight would be perfect. There’ll be a lot of people here. We can slip through the party without being noticed.

  “Tonight,” I whisper against his mouth. “I want both of you tonight.”

  “You’re eager.” He slides his thumb over my clit repeatedly and my body begins to tremble as excitement brews.

  I have to make this happen. I don’t know how Jai will feel about me setting up our escape under the pretense of a threesome with Skull,
but if he’s got a better idea I’m all ears.

  A storm swells inside of me and I close my eyes, imagining tonight. Imagining Jai. “Please, I can’t wait.”

  My lungs fail to hold air and I gasp, clamping my hand around his wrist and dropping my head back, unable to stop the cry that tears from my mouth as my entire body clenches. He moves his fingers harder and faster until I completely break apart and melt into the palm of his hand.

  Right where he wants me.

  “Tonight,” he states, talking through my heavy panting, his voice low and rough. “You’re not his. You’re not mine. You’re ours.”

  I nod, my cheeks flushing at the thought of what Jai will do to me once he pulls Skull’s head clean off his shoulders. Would we run straight away? Or would we use the time to reconcile?

  Bang. Bang. I startle, the noise pulling me from my stupor.

  Holding me still, his fingers gently toying with the sensitive flesh between my legs, Skull kisses me on the mouth, slipping his tongue inside. My insides grow heavy with guilt and disgust, but I keep on with the charade, kissing him back with as much passion as I can muster. I keep my eyes on the door as it opens, and Laura slips her head inside, her eyes thinning when she sees us.

  “What’s taking so long?” she snaps, and Skull breaks the kiss.

  Withdrawing his fingers from me, he shields my modesty from Laura and pulls my panties back into their rightful place. I unwrap my legs from around his waist and pull my robe together as he turns to face a scowling Laura.

  I don’t know what he’s going to say to her. Will he grant me my favor? Or did I waste my time?

  “There’s been a slight change of plans,” he says, straightening his suit jacket, mainly its lapels. “Leave Monique. We don’t have time to waste on her.”

  My lips twitch. Maybe Skull is easier to manipulate than I thought.

  “There’s no time to punish Monique for treason and murder, but there’s plenty of time to fuck this one in the bathroom?”

  Heat burns at my cheeks, making me cringe. “We didn’t—”