Chapter 6
Dean
Revenge may be wicked,
But it’s natural.
William Makepeace Thackeray
I was sure things were going just the way I planned, what with the cookies and that fucking chump thinking he could come into my territory and take what was mine. I couldn’t let anyone spoil what Tyler and I had going at the moment.
And that’s precisely why I had to up my game. I needed to act as soon as fucking possible. So I set the wheels in motion. I felt calmer now after what happened Friday night. I wanted to murder someone, preferably Brad…the fucking numpty. Funny, really, because I was going to use Brad in my little game on Saturday. After all this, he was going to end up being my little pawn. It made me laugh a little thinking about how much he was going to look forward to this. Anybody who gets an invite looks forward to my parties.
And I was planning on making it the most memorable night of Tyler’s life.
Chapter 7
Tyler
Buckinghamshire, 1994
“Dean, that’s so funny,” I giggled.
Running into the field, we were all panting after Dean’s dare. He had just buzzed on Mrs. Baxter’s door—something we seemed to do on a regular basis lately. It was her screaming after us that did it. She sounded like a cat.
Calming down, Ian turned to me when he saw I was staring at Dean. “Okay,” he said, trying to break our trance. “What you got for me?”
Pulling away from our gaze, Dean looked up to his other best friend. “I dare you to put on a blindfold for five minutes without moving.”
That was a strange one. Even Ian was looking perplexed. “Okay, easy peasy. What can I use?”
“Use this.” Dean pulled out a bandana from his pocket and handed it to Ian. Once he had it firmly in place, Dean motioned for me to come with him.
Holding out his hand, he tugged me up and off we went, running towards some trees. Crouching low, we giggled for a few seconds before calming.
“Why did you do that, Dean?”
Dean looked at me with his bright blue eyes. He was eleven now and I was only nine. I loved him, though. I loved him with all my heart.
“I just wanted to be alone with you for a few minutes.” Dean smiled, making my heart thump loudly in my ears.
Picking my hand up, he stroked it with his fingers. “You always have soft hands. I love touching them.”
Blushing, I turned my face away, but it was hard ignoring his touch. It felt really good.
“That’s what I wanted to see,” Dean said, startling me.
“What?” I asked, turning back around to face him.
Raising his hand to my cheek, he smiled. “My Rosey.”
*****
I couldn’t believe Louisa managed to rope me into this dinner function tonight. I was about to sleep in some stranger’s house, but it seemed everyone was vying for this invite. I didn’t know what went on behind closed doors, but the journalist in me was intrigued. I was also vaguely aware that I had yet to dust the cobwebs off a certain part of my anatomy. Maybe this night would be my night. Now that I wasn’t at home, my stranger couldn’t get in the way of any nookie I may feel needs to take place. My goodness, I needed the nookie.
Driving into what I can only describe as an entrance to a mansion, Louisa and I parked and couldn’t help but gawk at the place.
“Fucking hell, Louisa. What on earth kind of place is this? Who owns it?”
She shook her head. “I don’t know. It’s a total mystery. I’ve been trying for months to get an invite to this place. Then, all of a sudden, one turns up saying I could bring a friend. Of course, I had to choose you.” She smiled brightly, winking at me.
“Does anybody know who owns the place?”
She shook her head again. “I’ve been trying to find out. No one knows whether the owner is actually here when people show up. They say he is a recluse who only comes out at night.”
I frowned. “Is he related to the Great Gatsby or something?”
Louisa chuckled. “I suppose anything’s possible. I just can’t wait to get in there and have a snoop. I’m sure the journalist in you can’t wait, either.”
I was a little apprehensive about this, but smiled nonetheless. I was intrigued. Very intrigued. “Okay, then. Now that we are here, let’s go and snoop.”
Opening the car door, Louisa smiled. “Oh hell, yeah!”
Once outside the car, Louisa and I retrieved our bags from the boot, then walked up the grand staircase to the house. I wasn’t sure what it was, but this house was rather opposing. The weather was dull, which only made the house look even freakier. It looked old and grey, but grand at the same time. I was starting to wonder whether the Addams family might answer the door.
I certainly wasn’t prepared for what it looked like on the inside. After we rang the bell, we were met by a rather attractive older man sporting a rather interesting-looking moustache. He had greying hair and wore a black suit and bow tie. He smiled politely and asked if he could see our invitation and I.D. Once that was all over, we walked into the most modern hall I had ever seen. This was far from anything I expected. I thought it would look as old and imposing on the inside as it did on the outside.
Louisa gasped. “Shit. Of all the things I thought, I didn’t expect this.”
I nodded. “I thought we were going to walk in and find Lurch answering the door, and a bunch of suits of armour standing on either side of the walls.” I shuddered at the thought.
Louisa laughed, but then we were interrupted by the man who answered the door. “If you walk through this door, this is where all the guests are waiting. I shall take your bags to your rooms. Please take your keys. Miss Temple, you will be in room twenty. Miss O’Shea, you will be in room twenty-one.”
We both nodded and took the keys. “Thank you. Can you tell me if the owner will be here this evening?”
The man smiled at me. “No, I’m sorry, but I can’t. I have never met him so I cannot say.”
I highly doubted he was telling the truth, but nodded anyway.
Louisa and I stood and watched as he walked off. We were left feeling a little nervous about what we would find once that door was open.
Taking a deep breath, Louisa shrugged. “Here goes nothing, girlfriend.”
She grabbed the handle and pushed. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but it wasn’t just a bunch of random people sitting around drinking and chatting. Most of the guests were men, but there were a couple of other girls sitting in chairs, eyeing us as we walked in. It made me wonder if they were another Tyler and Louisa…out of their freaking minds!
Of course, once we opened the door, all went silent and every set of eyes immediately snapped in our direction.
Like us, they were all dressed smart, but casual. At least I could breathe a sigh of relief that I had managed to wear something that could be pulled off for any occasion. For me, you could never go wrong with a little black dress. And don’t forget the high heels.
“Good evening,” one of the men said as we entered. “My name’s John, this is Jose, and the gentleman next to him is Pete. May I ask your names?”
“I’m Tyler,” I replied, offering him my hand. “And this is Louisa.”
I took a moment to regard John as he shook our hands. Every guy in here was handsome in their own right. The women were also pretty. I kind of felt a little exposed. I wasn’t sure whether this was on a list of criteria or not. What if I failed miserably in the owner’s eyes? I wasn’t sure why I even cared.
The other noticeable thing was that every one of them were either in their late twenties or early thirties. All looked like they had varying degrees of money, but none of them looked poor.
John was tall and well-built. He had dark, slicked back hair and blue eyes. He wore a white shirt with tanned chinos, and had a dimple of his left cheek when he smiled. Jose looked Mediterranean, with soft olive skin, light brown eyes, and wavy brown hair. Very nice. Pete was your average
blonde, not so tall, but had a rather cheeky smile.
“It’s nice to meet you all,” I finally managed to say as I broke free from John’s grip.
“The pleasure is certainly mine.” John trailed his eyes over both Louisa and I, making us blush.
“I believe I’m missing out on the introductions.”
Everyone turned their attention to the voice behind us, and what I found nearly had me on the floor. Both Louisa and I gasped. “Brad?”
Brad smiled cautiously as he approached. I wasn’t sure whether he was still mad at me after the incident a few nights ago. “Tyler, nice to see you again. And this is Louisa, right?” Brad leaned in for a kiss on the cheek.
“That’s right. You remembered.” Louisa flicked her auburn hair, and I couldn’t help but notice Pete taking a breath at her sight. It certainly looked like she had an admirer already.
“It’s kind of my job to be as observant as I can. I don’t think that was a night I could easily forget.” Brad looked my way and I cringed a little.
“Don’t embarrass the poor girl, Brad. For fuck’s sake.” John glared at him.
Brad just shrugged and came in closer. “So, have you managed to figure out what kind of relationship you and this guy have?”
With Brad side-lining me like that, Louisa took it as her cue to carry on talking with John and the others. I did notice that Pete went muscling in there straight away. I think he wanted to stake his claim, and quickly.
“I’m not in a relationship, Brad. It’s really hard to explain, but I can tell you I’m not taken.”
Brad looked confused and I couldn’t blame him. “Are you being stalked or something? You know that’s against the law, right?”
I couldn’t help the laughter that escaped me. Brad seemed to see what it was before I could even wrap my head around it myself. I wanted to tell him, but I felt some sort of morbid loyalty to my stranger.
“It’s nothing I can’t handle.”
Brad looked at me sternly. “Tyler, if someone is breaking into your house and leaving notes like that, you need to report it to the police.”
I felt a sudden panic rise out of nowhere. “It’s fine, honestly. I’m taking care of it.” I smiled at Brad, but I didn’t think he was buying it.
Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a card. “I want you to take this and promise me you’ll call me if something like that ever happens again. Day or night, you can reach me. Okay?”
Taking the card, I nodded my head, but felt a little tingle at his concern for me. Suddenly, Brad looked even more irresistible than when we first met.
“I really appreciate you looking out for me. Thank you.”
Brad smiled and caressed my cheek. “I’m sorry I never stuck around long enough to hear you out. To be honest with you, I’ve been wondering for days what you meant.”
Before I could answer, I felt a tap on my shoulder. “Here you go, Tyler. A nice glass of bubbly, courtesy of the Great Gatsby.” Louisa winked and handed me the glass.
“The Great Gatsby?” Brad asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Tyler thought it up because we don’t have a clue who owns this place.”
“Who does own this place?” I looked at Brad, hoping he would be able to shed some light.
“I have no clue. I’m friends with John and he invited me. He said he’s been wanting to come for months, then an invitation turns up at his house.”
Louisa gasped. “Exactly the same as me.”
The only thing I could do was frown. “This seems weird. We’re not in a Saw movie where someone will pop out in a mask, asking everyone to hack each other’s legs off, are we?”
Both Louisa and Brad laughed. “It does sound a little strange,” he replied. “I suppose we’ll soon find out.”
Just as he said this, the sound of the door opening interrupted our conversation. Two men walked in. Again, both looked handsome, one more than the other, but I guess that was just my taste. The more appealing one had dark, spiky hair and sparkling blue eyes. He was extremely tall and muscular, with the most impressive five o’clock shadow I had ever seen. The instant I saw him, I gasped, thinking for a moment that my Dean was finally here to whisk me away.
He looked across the room and immediately spotted me, fixing me with an intense glare. It was so hypnotic, I didn’t even notice Brad had put his arm around me until he tugged me into him. I couldn’t help rolling my eyes.
Pretty soon, the intense glare was off me and he went on his way, the smaller, darker man trailing behind him. He completely passed me without a second glance and went to talk to the crowd of people in the corner of the room, including the two other girls. They practically jumped through the roof when he approached. I suppose it wasn’t my Dean after all.
“That was rude. Who was that?” I looked at Brad, John, and the others, but they all just shook their heads.
“I guess he’s just another guest,” John finally said.
“More like a pompous arse,” I huffed.
“Don’t worry about him.” Brad smiled and pulled me into him a little bit more. “We’ll keep you company.”
I smiled up at Brad as the man from earlier came in to announce that dinner was served. I had to admit, I was a little intrigued as to what we would find when we got there.
We were all ushered into a rather large room, an absolutely humungous table sitting regally in the centre. The plates, knives, forks, everything was placed neatly on the table. Bottles of champagne, white and red wine were resting neatly in the middle, as everyone took their seats. I made sure to sit next to Louisa, and Brad made sure he was sitting next to me. Pete reached out to grab the chair next to Louisa before anyone else could get the chance.
“Looks like you’ve scored,” I whispered to Louisa.
She blushed. “He is kind of cute, isn’t he? You better watch me tonight, Tyler. I may decide to get a little frisky with this one under the table.”
I chuckled. “And why not?”
Louisa nodded. “Why not, indeed.”
Chapter 8
Dean
Revenge is an act of passion; vengeance is an act of justice.
Samuel Johnson
I knew she wouldn’t fucking recognize me. It made me despise her even more. I had been watching her sucking up to that arsehole she picked up at the bar. Little did both of them know I set this whole thing up.
I shook my head, chuckling at the thought. She looked even more beautiful than I remembered. It almost made me regret planning to taint that beauty.
Almost.
I stared over when I saw Brad whispering something in her ear. She blushed a little and threw her head back in laughter. Seeing that had the visions flying through my head. Fuck, I wanted to sink my cock into her. I wanted to please her and punish her at the same time. I wanted to make it so I would give enough pleasure that she would be begging for more, but not enough that she would think I cared for her. I didn’t care for her. I wanted to see her suffer. I wanted to see her pain when she realized what she put me through. I wanted to see the fear and loathing in her eyes when she realized it was me all along. I couldn’t wait. I had been building up for that day. But, first, I still had some game playing to do. I had planned and built this up far too long to fuck up now. I had to stick with the plan and to hell with the consequences.
Getting the attention of my uncle, I whispered in his ear. Humphrey nodded and disappeared into the kitchen with a bottle of wine.
Let the games begin.
Chapter 9
Tyler
“You look stunning, Tyler. You really do.”
Brad had been drinking a little and I could tell it was heading to one place. To be honest, him stroking my cheek or my thigh didn’t help much. It was making me a horny mess. I was even starting to wonder what time we could finish this meal so I could take Brad upstairs and shag him senseless.
“Did you enjoy your chicken?” Brad asked, finally pulling away a little.
“Yes, than
k you.”
From the corner of my eye, the man who answered the door came over and poured Brad another glass of wine. I thought he was coming to me next, but he completely by-passed me and went on his way. Weird.
Frowning, I shook my head and looked at Brad. “It looks as though you want something from me.”
Brad laughed. “I do. Very much. Maybe we can meet later. What room are you in?”
I shook my head. “A lady never tells,” I teased.
Brad raised his eyebrow. “Come on,” he said, nudging my shoulder.
Shaking my head, I said, “Room twenty-one.”
Leaning towards me, Brad kissed my cheek and whispered in my ear, “I promise to make it a night you will never forget.”
I shuddered in pleasure. I was more than ready. I knew we would be expected to hang around for more drinks afterwards, but I wasn’t sure my loins could take much more.
Turning my attention to Louisa, I nudged her shoulder. I could see Pete already making his mark, nibbling on her ear as she giggled. “Having fun?”
She smiled and looked over in Brad’s direction. “As much as you, it would seem.”
“Touché,” I said, waving my hands. “If I went to bed a little earlier than expected, would you be mad at me?”
Louisa giggled and shook her head. “Funny enough, I was just thinking the same thing.”
*****
The plates were soon cleared and dessert was served, but I was already feeling stuffed from the first two courses. I only had soup and some chicken with potatoes, but my stomach was too busy swarming with butterflies to care about food.
By the time Brad finished his fourth glass of wine, he was looking even merrier. The fact his hand was now wandering even further up my leg told me that.
Once everyone had finished their meals, the scrapping of chairs could be heard. “Thank fuck for that,” Brad slurred. “Shall I see you in your room in about ten minutes, so it doesn’t look too suspicious?”