I closed my eyes at the picture in my head. Tears welled.
“Yeah, she likes it, alright. Especially from him,” Damon told me.
I kept my head down, but I glanced up through the tears in my eyes, seeing her hands all over him, her body plastered to his.
A perfect fit.
“I told you,” Damon said in a low voice in my ear. “Guys will say anything. And we don’t even have to lie that well. Girls want to believe it.” I felt his arm circle me as he leaned his cheek into my temple. “But your eyes will tell you the only truth you need. You know that. Just look at her.”
I quickly wiped away a tear on the rim of my lid.
“That’s who goes out with him—looks how a girlfriend’s supposed to look in his lap,” my brother continued. “That’s who will be in a pretty little prom dress at his side next May. That’s who meets his parents and has dinners with them. That’s who texts him late at night and makes him hard. That’s what his normal is, Nik. You have a place, and that’s not it. It would never work.”
My chin trembled, and I nodded. Her plaid miniskirt or my hand-me-down jeans? Her tight shirt or my oversized sweatshirt? Her money, education, and whole fucking future in front of her or my…nothing?
I shook my head. Fuck him. I didn’t need all that stuff, and if that’s what interested Kai—appearances—then I was better off. I’d be more than all of them.
Twisting around, I pulled out of my brother’s grasp and took off, heading in the opposite direction. Damon wouldn’t follow me. He knew I was out of danger now, no doubt pleased with himself that he’d gotten me away from Kai.
I could be angry with my brother for never protecting my feelings or understanding some of the things I wanted, but he always told me the truth and fed it to me straight. Dancing around my poor little heart wouldn’t help me.
He was my best teacher.
I looked around for David, taking off my sweatshirt and tying it around my waist. I was suddenly so hot, an irritating nip biting at my skin.
Traipsing across the graveyard, I checked near the keg where I’d last seen him, and then headed up the hill, scanning small groups of people for the guys. A brick settled in my stomach, anger solidifying. I needed to get home. I didn’t want to look at these people anymore. Or hear their music. Or run into drama. I wanted to get out of here before Kai saw me. He would think I followed him.
“How about this one?” someone spoke up.
I looked up, coming out of my head.
Four guys loitered around an open grave, two of them sitting on nearby headstones. I’d wandered outside of the party area, all of the noise and light behind me.
Shit. Was that grave empty?
“Looks like she scares easily,” another one said, getting up from the stone and blowing out smoke. “Works for me.”
What?
I started to back away and turn around, but then one of them stepped in front of me, making me jump.
“Want to play a game?” he asked, mischief in his brown eyes.
“No.”
“It’s called Seven Minutes in Heaven.” He took my hand, handing me a penny. “Toss this into the air. Whichever one of us catches it gets to take you there.”
‘There?’ Heaven?
“No, thanks.” I turned in a circle, looking for anyone. Lev’s black Mohawk, David’s shaved head, Damon’s cigarette smoke billowing in the air…
“Toss it,” another guy demanded.
“Bite me!” I threw the fucking penny at him, and all of a sudden, every single one of them dived for the coin.
Shit! They scrambled, falling over each other and laughing, but before I thought to spin around and get my ass out of there, the brown-eyed one with the black leather jacket stood upright, raising his fist triumphantly, no doubt with the penny inside of it.
“Get her!” he shouted.
“What?” I blurted out.
They all rushed right for me, and I reared back as they grabbed my arms, the skin of my wrists burning as they hauled me forward.
“No, no!”
But they didn’t listen. They swung me over the hole, and I squirmed and struggled, but they quickly dropped me the shallow distance to the bottom of the black grave.
I landed, stumbling to stay on my feet, and slammed into the wall of the grave, my wrist suddenly aching. I sucked in breath after breath, instantly spinning in a circle to make sure the grave was empty.
Dirt all around, dirt under my shoes…I didn’t know if this was a fresh grave dug for a service this weekend or an old grave just not dug deep enough to reach the casket underneath.
“Oh, God.” I jumped up, trying to grab hold of the land at the top, but I only got dirt, my fingers sliding right through it.
“Get me out of here!” I barked.
I tried the other side of the hole, jumping again and again, trying to get a grip.
But then a figure landed to my right, and I turned around, facing the brown-eyed one again.
“It’s only seven minutes,” he said in a cocky tone. “How much damage can I really do?”
“Let’s find out!” one of his buddies crowed.
Brown-eyes smirked and moved for me. “Come on, baby.”
“Stop!” I shoved him, twisting around and jumping up, pushing myself as high as I could and finally catching some grass.
But my fingers tore right through it, and I fell back down, crashing into the other side of the grave. My bare arm ground against the wet earth, the roots spilling out and scratching my skin.
And he was on me again. He pushed me into a corner, gripping my waist. “What’s your name?”
“What’s your name?” I retorted, gritting through my teeth.
“Flynn.”
“Good.” I pushed his hands down, trying to get out from the corner. “I hope you like snakes, Flynn.”
“Huh?” Confusion etched across his face, but I didn’t bother to explain my brother’s favorite method of torturing anyone who messed with me.
Every muscle in my body tightened so hard they burned, and I raised my fist, knocking him on the side of the head. Off target and sloppy, but he stumbled back and winced. I pushed him in the chest again, knocking him on his ass.
“Help!” Jumping up, I slapped my palm against the dirt wall. “Let me out of here!”
“Ow, fuck!” I heard the growl from up top, but I couldn’t see anyone all of a sudden.
I breathed hard, glancing nervously between the asshole crawling to his feet next to me and the top of the grave, now vacant. Where the hell were his friends?
And then someone stepped up to the edge of the grave, looking out of breath as he gazed down.
Kai? Why wasn’t he off with his blonde prom queen?
He took a step, falling into the grave and landing on both feet. I ignored the skip in my heartbeat as he looked at me, his eyes scanning worriedly down my body.
“Kai, Jesus, what the hell?” The other guy said, still holding the side of his head. “We were just playing around.”
But Kai just turned toward him, walking into his space. “Five…four…three,” he gritted out, and the guy’s expression fell.
“Two,” Kai continued, “O—”
And Leather Jacket bolted before he finished counting, running up the wall and climbing with his hands and his feet until he was over the edge.
Gone.
Kai turned to me, reaching out for my face. “You okay?”
But I slapped his hands down, backing up. What the hell was the matter with all of them? Sick, sadistic…. I should’ve stomped right on his dick when he was on the fucking ground.
“Hey,” Kai said, snapping his fingers in my face. “They’re gone. It’s okay. Are you hurt?”
I blinked, trying to process what he asked me through my anger.
No. No, I wasn’t hurt. But my nerves were shot.
I brushed past him, jumping up and grunting as I tried to grab onto anything to get myself out of here. How did that ass
hole do that so easily?
“That’s not going to work,” Kai told me.
I stopped, fisting my hands and seething. “Then get me out of here.”
“Alright, just hold on.”
He backed up to a short side of the grave, looking like he was making room to get a running start, so he could scale the wall.
But then he reached over and grabbed my arm. “Wait, what happened?”
I twisted my arm around, seeing blood trickle down from my elbow.
Huh. I hadn’t even felt that happen. Must’ve been during the struggle.
Kai took his shirt out of his back pocket and wiped off the blood.
“Banks!”
I sucked in a breath and shot my eyes up at the call of my name. “Shit,” I mumbled under my breath.
“Banks! Where are you?”
I lowered my eyes to see Kai looking at me, his brows narrowed. “Is that your name?”
Dammit. They wouldn’t walk away if they found me with him, even though this wasn’t my fault. They’d tell Damon, and I’d never get out of the house again.
Kai dropped my arm and ran, leaping up to the ledge and peeking over. After a moment checking it out, he fell back to his feet.
“Who are those guys?” he asked. “They’re the same ones who picked you up on the road earlier today.”
“Just let me out.”
“Who are they?”
“Brothers,” I replied sarcastically. “They share me, okay? Sometimes they loan me out for parties. You want a piece?”
“Banks!” I heard David bellow, the patience in his voice now gone. I glanced worriedly to the top of the grave, shrinking back into the corner.
Dammit.
But Kai just rolled his eyes, amusement crossing his face.
“She’s here!” he called out.
What the—? I lunged for him, putting my hand over his mouth while holding the back of his neck with my other hand. “Shut up!” I whisper-yelled.
I pulled him back with me, shrouding us in the darkness of the corner.
“Shhh,” I pleaded in a whisper. “If they find me with you, I’ll be on lockdown until I’m old and gray.”
I felt his mouth spread into a smile behind my hand, and he planted his palms against the dirt wall behind me, his dark gaze making my stomach somersault.
He twisted his head, nudging my hand away. “You’re a lot of trouble.”
“So, stop taking an interest.”
We stared at each other, locked in a challenge. His body was pressed to mine, and I could feel it move as he breathed. Inhale, exhale. Inhale, exhale.
I dropped my eyes to his lips, wetting my own.
He leaned in, the caress of his breath falling on my face, and I knew he was going to kiss me.
But someone called out, stopping us. “Kai!” A woman’s voice pierced the night air.
And I saw his eyes close as he mouthed “Fuck.”
Reality came crashing back down.
“Would that be Chloe?” I teased.
His eyes popped open, studying me. “Do you know her?”
“I know you’re hers.”
“Who told you that?”
I remained silent, noticing the deep etch of confusion across his face.
“No.” He laughed, shaking his head. “Okay? No. We were off again and on again for a long time, but…”
“But…?”
“But we’re off,” he maintained. “Have been for a long time.”
“But you still screw around with each other, right?”
He averted his eyes, looking uncomfortable as an embarrassed smile peeked out.
“Kai?” I pressed.
And he shrugged, looking apologetic. “The devil I know is better than the devil I don’t, okay?”
Whatever. She couldn’t be all bad if he still liked sleeping with her. It was just more convenient to bank on a sure thing than to do the work to seduce someone new.
Typical.
“Look.” He took my chin, forcing me to look at him. “I would never have tried anything with you in the Bell Tower if I had a girlfriend. She’s seeing other guys. We are not together.”
“Doesn’t matter.”
I darted around him to try to climb my way up the wall, but he grabbed the back of my jeans and yanked me back into his body, searing my ear with his hot breath. “I like you more.”
My lids felt heavy all of a sudden, and tingles spread over my body. But I forced myself to stay angry. “Like I care,” I said. “If I weren’t here, you’d be ‘liking’ her a lot in the backseat of your car right now?”
He laughed in my ear. “You’re so mean.” And then he quieted, his voice turning soft and sincere as he turned me around to face him. “I really like you, though.”
I didn’t know what to say. What could I say? For some reason, though, it was really nice to hear. Kai was nice.
“Let me touch you,” he whispered, holding my eyes and pulling me in.
I saw him come in, and I slowly dropped my head back to give him access to my neck. His lips touched my skin, and my eyelids fluttered. He was the best feeling in the world.
“I don’t want to go on dates,” I told him, laying it down straight. “I don’t like a lot of people.”
I felt him smile against my skin as he continued his path. “Me neither. How about you, me, and Netflix?”
Hell, yeah. “And no one can know I’m messing around with a pansy-ass rich boy, okay? I’d lose my street cred.”
He snorted, shaking with laughter. “Hey, it’s not the label on the jeans but what’s inside that matters.” And he hefted me up, gripping my ass and pressing me to him.
I moaned, feeling the heat between us. Yeah, okay, smart ass.
Leaning in, I parted my lips, and he dived in, capturing them. I groaned into his mouth. Oh, my God. The warmth, the taste…. He was slow but strong and deep, and I melted into him, following his lead and sucking and nibbling.
My entire body was alive, an electric current spreading from my lips down the rest of me, and I wanted him to kiss me everywhere.
“Where do you come from, Banks?” he whispered, biting my lip. “Why do you live with the Torrance’s?”
I held the side of his face, pulling my lips away but touching my forehead to his. “It doesn’t matter. I don’t want to be me tonight, okay?” I pulled back, giving him a small smile and challenging him. “We’re in the confessional, and no one can see us. Let’s just run and not look back tonight.”
His eyes lightened up, and he caressed my face.
“Hell, yes,” he answered. “On one condition.”
He put me back on my feet and reached into his jeans, and I looked down between our bodies, watching as he pulled out some kind of card.
He held it up, the words The Pope of Meridian City written across the black piece of plastic.
A keycard?
I darted my eyes up to his, seeing the thrill there that was also coursing through me.
He got a room? At The Pope?
“I want to find that twelfth floor,” he said. “Want to go on an adventure with me?”
I broke out in a smile and couldn’t help it—I dived in and wrapped my arms around him. I was going to fall hard if he wasn’t careful.
That would totally destroy my street cred.
How did he get a room? It had to be earlier today after confession, I guess.
I leaned back and nodded, climbing off him and standing up.
“Let’s go—”
But then, all of a sudden, something grabbed my shirt and hauled me up off my feet. Hands squeezed my arms, and I was plucked up and out of the grave.
“Hey!” I screamed, my heart lurching into my throat.
“What the hell?” I heard Kai’s bellow from below.
I landed on the cold grass above, the wind knocked out of me. I flipped over, seeing several pairs of black boots.
Who…
But I instantly found their faces. David, Lev,
Ilia, and…Damon all stood over me, staring down. My brother’s black eyes were on fire.
Oh, no.
I slowly rose to my feet, keeping my eyes down.
But I kept my chin up. Cowering wouldn’t do me any good this time.
Kai hopped out of the grave, pushing himself to his feet and coming to stand in front of me. “Damon?” he said, breathing hard as he looked at my brother. “What the hell, man?”
I opened my mouth to say something—I don’t know what—but Damon grabbed my wrist and hauled me over to his side behind him.
“Stay fucking still,” he growled at me.
Kai advanced on him. “What the hell are you doing?”
My brother turned to him. “You’re not messing with what’s mine, are you? I thought we were brothers and all.”
I closed my eyes. Oh, God. I could feel Kai’s eyes on me. His confusion.
“Yours?” he shot back. “I didn’t know she was yours. You acted like you didn’t know her in the Bell Tower!”
I glanced quickly between him and my brother, tears springing up. People were starting to gather around, and I saw Michael and Will step up to the scene, as well.
Kai’s eyes narrowed on me, still holding the hotel key in his fist.
“And I’m sorry to say,” he continued, “but it doesn’t really look like she wants to be yours.” He said to me, “You want me to take you home?”
No.
Take me anywhere else.
“You want him to take you home?” My brother looked down at me, daring me with his icy voice.
It wasn’t a choice, though.
I would love to be someone else, somewhere else, but this was it. Damon needed me. Kai didn’t. What would happen to my brother if I broke his heart?
I reached over and took his hand, shaking my head.
And I could feel Kai’s silence like a knife slicing through my gut.
“Well, this is fucking fun,” Will chimed in. “Come on, man, leave her alone.” He nudged Kai. “Damon’s got dibs. What does it matter?”
“Since when does Damon give a shit about dibs?” Kai barked at Will. “If one’s not available, he moves onto the next. No one woman is worth the trouble, right?” He challenged my brother. “You’ve never put a girl before us. What if I want her, too?”
“Well, you can’t have her,” Damon shot back. “It’s kind of nice having one piece of pure, clean pussy all to myself.”