by K. G. Reuss
“Keys are on the keyring,” he mumbled.
I fumbled for a moment with the keys before getting one of the three on the ring into the lock.
“Are your parents here?”
He shook his head no.
Thank god.
I’d never been in Ethan’s house before. It was a cute ranch style, thankfully. I wasn’t so sure I could get him upstairs on my own. After a few moments, I finally found his room. Breathlessly, I released him onto his bed.
I dropped to my knees and took his shoes off then helped him onto his side.
“Don’t go,” he called out weakly as I started to move away to get him some water and aspirin.
“I’m only getting you some water.”
He grew quiet. I grabbed him a glass of water from the faucet in his bathroom and stared at myself in the mirror. I looked tired.
And scared.
Definitely scared.
Ian was going to kill me. As if sensing my thoughts, my phone vibrated in my pocket.
Ian: You better hope he doesn’t touch you. I’ll kill him.
I swallowed thickly and stuffed my phone back into my pocket. I rummaged through Ethan’s medicine cabinet. A couple bottles of pills fell from the shelf into the sink. I turned them over and read the labels.
Xanax. Ativan. Valium. Morphine. Methadone. Ambien.
“What the actual fuck,” I whispered, staring down at the pill bottles. Only a few had pills left in them, and they certainly weren’t many.
“Rosalie? Rose?” Ethan’s garbled voice called out for me.
I quickly pushed the bottles back into the cupboard before snagging a bottle of aspirin. It was still sealed, so it at least had that going for it. I went back to his room and placed the water and pills on his bedside table.
“Hey.” Ethan reached out for me.
“Hey,” I answered, taking his hand and sitting on the edge of his bed.
“Are you really here or am I completely fucked?”
“I’m really here.”
He smiled, his eyes barely open. “I’m happy.”
“I’m glad.” My heart ached as I stared down at such a beautiful disaster. I ran my fingers through his dark hair, the silky strands tickling my fingers.
“I like that,” he mumbled. “I like when you touch me, Rosalie.”
I swallowed the lump in my throat. “Here. Drink this.”
I held the water to his lips and watched as he slurped it down.
“Will you stay with me?”
“I-I can’t, Ethan.”
I let out a squeak as he jolted out of bed, his eyes wild. “You can’t leave me. Rosalie. Don’t go. Please.” His breathing changed, coming out in short gasps.
“Ethan. Hey. Calm down—”
“Rosalie, please. Stay with me. Please. You’re the only one.” A tear slipped from his eye. “I don’t sleep. I need you. Don’t leave me.”
“OK. OK, Ethan. I’ll stay,” I whispered, pushing my shoes off. Ethan lay down, his breathing still coming in gasps.
Quickly, I moved to lay beside him. I pulled the blanket over us and rested my head on his chest. His arms immediately snaked around me, and his breathing slowed. I listened as his heart hammered hard and fast before it slowed with his breathing.
“You should lie on your side, Ethan.”
“I like it this way with you in my arms. It feels good.”
I didn’t say anything as he twined his fingers through mine and rested them low on his abdomen.
“This is the best dream,” he murmured sleepily. “No monsters. No devils. Just me and my angel.”
I squeezed his hand, tears prickling my eyes. Ethan’s world was nothing like I thought it was. He had his own monsters to battle.
“Can I tell you something?” he called out thickly, his voice heavy with sleep.
“Yes,” I whispered.
“I’m sick, sweetheart. It’s going to kill me.”
My heart clenched at his words. “You can’t die on me, Ethan,” I said softly into the darkness. “I won’t let you.”
“Because you’re my guardian angel, here to save me.” His words were still slurred and jumbled. He grew quiet, not elaborating.
I didn’t say anything else, just listening as his breathing became deeper and more even before he let out a soft snore. I simply lay in his arms until sleep took over.
Just an angel with her devil.
And tomorrow there’d be hell to pay.
Twelve
Light barely filtered through Ethan’s blinds as I opened my eyes. The first thing I did was look at him. His chest rose and fell with each breath. He looked so beautiful as he lay there. But I couldn’t stay. Seeing him like that last night nearly killed me. It opened up my heart but darkened my soul. I hated seeing him the way he was. And his words. . .
I quickly, but gently, untangled myself from him and pressed a soft kiss to his cheek. He murmured my name softly as he rolled over and hugged his pillow.
My heart jerked in my chest, but I kept moving. I pulled my shoes onto my feet and left his room as quietly as I could. I’d just rounded the hallway when I ran into someone.
A hand was placed over my mouth before I could scream.
Enzo.
“Good morning, Sunshine.” He removed his hand and smirked down at me.
“What the hell are you doing?” I whispered, my heart still jack hammering in my chest.
“I could ask you the same thing.”
“I stayed to make sure Ethan was OK.” I shoved past him.
He followed me to the living room. I was grateful there was no one else there.
“And is he?”
“Obviously.”
“You’re wrong. He’s got problems only you can solve.”
I stopped and turned to Enzo. “What’s going on?”
“What isn’t?” Enzo muttered. He moved to the couch and sank down onto it.
I hesitated for a moment before going and sitting in the chair next to it. Enzo gave me his dashing smile.
“Just tell me.”
Enzo sighed. “It’s better if I tell you at my place. I don’t need him waking up and finding out I’m divulging all his secrets.”
I surveyed him for a moment before giving him a nod. There was no way I wasn’t going to get some damn answers. “Fine. When?”
“Now?” Enzo raised his brows at me. “As long as Prince Charming is safely tucked away in bed.”
“He is.”
“Good.” Enzo got to his feet and nodded to the door. “Come on.”
I followed him out to his car. He opened the passenger side door for me, and I slid onto the leather seat. After he closed me in and got behind the wheel, he slid his dark sunglasses on and fired up the engine.
We were on the road before either of us spoke. He was the first to break the silence.
“I’m surprised you went after Ethan last night.”
“Imagine my surprise to find you in his house when I woke up. Did you stay there?”
Enzo nodded and turned onto another street. “Sure did. I beat the other two in a coin toss for the position.”
“I guess it’s good you’re all so eager to look out for him.”
“Oh, Sunshine.” He shook his head and gave a wry chuckle. “Baby girl, you know as well as I do it was more about getting you alone. No one is all that eager to go through this hell with Ethan. We do it because we love him, but it’s fucking rough. You’re just the silver lining to the shitty situation.”
“And what’s the shitty situation? Why is he spiraling?”
Enzo sighed but didn’t answer because his phone rang. “Yeah?”
He grew quiet for a moment. “He’s fine. Sleeping it off… Yeah. She was there all night.”
I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye as he chuckled into the phone. “No. Not yet, Cole. I’m working on it… Dude, eat shit. I’ll tell you later.”
He shook his head and dropped his phone into his lap before turn
ing into his driveway.
“Come on.” Quickly, he got out of the car and was at my side in moments, opening the door to help me out.
I took the hand he offered, my heart racing. Something about his touch did crazy things to my insides.
Keep it together, Rosalie! Enzo is smooth. You know this.
He tugged his sunglasses off, tossed them onto the seat, and shot me a wink. I stared stonily back at him, not wanting him to think my anger was gone. He didn’t say a word as he led me into his house.
“Where are your parents?” I asked as we stepped inside.
Enzo’s house was big. He lived in one of the gated communities the rich lived in. It wasn’t a mansion, but it was big enough.
“Out.” He didn’t elaborate beyond that.
Instead of going to his basement, he led me upstairs to a room on the left. I followed him in and stood awkwardly in his bedroom. I’d never been in his room before. Any time I’d been with him was in the basement.
“We could’ve talked in the living room,” I said, glancing around at his space. It was clean. Not as clean as Cole’s room was, but definitely well taken care of. So far, the guys had impressed me in that area. None of them seemed to be slobs.
“And miss the opportunity to have you on my bed?” He winked at me. “Never.”
He gestured for me to take a seat on his made bed. I rolled my eyes at him and sat in his computer chair. The move made him smirk.
He dropped the green canvas designer jacket he’d been wearing onto his dresser before he passed in front of me. He ran his fingers through his black hair. I shifted uncomfortably as his cologne wafted over me. It took everything I had not to breathe him in deeply. But hell. Lorenzo De Luca smelled divine. Like cloves and spice and every damn thing nice.
Reel it in, Rosalie!
“So…” I cleared my throat, noting how it shook as Enzo took a seat on the edge of his bed. Damn it. “Tell me what’s going on.”
“Give me what I want first, and I’ll tell you anything you want to know. Within reason, of course.”
I narrowed my eyes at him as we locked gazes. “What do you want?”
“Come sit beside me.”
“Enzo, seriously—”
He shrugged and scooted back a bit on the bed, his gaze still fixed on me. Sighing, I got up and moved to sit beside him.
“Fine. I’m here. Tell me.”
“Kiss me first.”
“What? Why?” I sputtered, my heart knocking against my rib cage.
He took my hand in his, lifted it to his lips, and pressed a warm kiss to my knuckles. “Because I miss the way you taste, Sunshine.”
His lips brushed my knuckles again.
“Did I tell you how fucking hot it was to hear about you kicking Juliet’s ass?”
“I figured you’d be mad I hurt your girlfriend.”
He let out a soft chuckle. “It turned me on thinking of you drawing blood.”
“Let me guess. You fucked her after to help soothe the ache.”
“No.” He smiled and pulled his phone from his pocket. He thumbed through it quickly before showing me a still shot of me from the video he’d made of me with him and Cole in his basement. I was straddling Enzo’s lap in my bra, his hands all over me.
“Why do you have that?” I asked in a throaty whisper.
“Because…it helps me when I miss you. When my cock aches to be inside you, I look at this picture. When I come, it’s always to you.”
My cheeks heated with his dirty words.
“What about Juliet?”
“She can’t hold a candle in the darkness when compared to you.” He cradled my face in his hands and leaned in. “Kiss me, Sunshine. Give me something else to think about when I hold my cock in my hand.”
“It doesn’t mean anything, Lorenzo,” I whispered, my resolve cracking.
Mother fucking damn it! Everything about Enzo pulled me in. He was the perfect monster.
I hauled in a calming breathe. “I just want to know what’s wrong with Ethan.”
“I’ll tell you, babe. Just give me this. I won’t tell anyone.”
I knew he meant Ian because there was no way Lorenzo De Luca would go behind the backs of his best friends with me. But knowing he might tell them made me smile on the inside. That could work in my favor. Cole and Fox wouldn’t be able to stand me alone with Enzo while they got nothing.
I nodded. A glint of victory flashed in his eyes as he leaned in. Silly boy, thinking he was winning. I was simply tightening the reins on my own game. I was taking what was Juliet’s. This was winning. At least that was what I told myself.
I didn’t close my eyes. If I did, I knew I’d fall into that deep, dark hole I’d been clawing my way out of.
Enzo’s lips pressed to mine, sending a flurry of butterflies crashing through my insides. I parted my lips, fighting to keep my eyes open. But he won when he deepened the kiss, his tongue caressing mine. I closed my eyes, letting him in, relishing in how he felt against my mouth.
It’s OK to want. It’s OK to feel. This is OK because you’re going to win. I repeated the words over and over in my head as our breathing grew heavier.
He kissed me hard, yet his mouth stayed tender. There was so much fury and demand in the kiss, I couldn’t stop myself from raking my fingers through his hair. We both moaned, eating the pleasure, as our hands acted on their own accord, traversing one another’s bodies.
The hard planes of Enzo’s abdominal muscles flexed beneath my fingers as he pulled me down on top of him. I pushed reason out of my head, completely lost in the guy dubbed the Italian Stallion as he ground his erection against my aching center.
I shamelessly rubbed myself on his hard, jean-clad length, both of us breathless. When his hands slid inside my pants, I didn’t stop him. In fact, I unbuttoned his jeans and took his thick cock into my hand.
A moan left my lips as his fingers pushed inside my wet channel. He was far gentler than Ian was. But more demanding. Experienced. He worked me, his thumb on my clit as his fingers moved in and out of me. I ran my hand up and down his dick, keeping pace with his movements.
A sputter of protest fell out of my mouth as he traversed away from my aching center. I thought he might leave me wanting. Instead, he shoved my pants down in a fluid movement, and I, being a glutton for punishment and completely under his spell, kicked them the rest of the way off. I shoved reason out of my head, telling myself this was just another part of the game. It meant nothing.
When his pants and shirt came off, I ran my hands over his hard body. My shirt was gone a moment later followed by my bra and panties. His lips molded to mine, barely breaking away as he devoured my mouth with his hot kisses. The rattle of a package tickled my ears. Condom. He’s going to fuck me.
My head was cloudy with desire as he expertly rolled the condom on his cock without breaking his lips from mine.
Love drunk. Lust drunk. Totally fucked as he rolled me onto my back, his bulging head at my entrance.
“I’m going to fuck you so hard you won’t remember fuck boy’s name,” he growled, shoving inside me in one fluid motion. I let out a cry as he filled me with his thickness, whimpering beneath the pain and intense pressure. His mouth found one of my nipples, and he sucked it, his tongue whirling around it as he massaged my other breast, his cock moving in and out of me in slow, deliberate motions.
“Oh god,” I choked out.
“That’s it.” He shoved into me hard, making me arch my back. “Fuck, you’re tight.”
He moved faster, pistoning so quickly it felt like he’d started a fire inside me from the friction of his dick against my trembling walls.
I clung to him, breathing hard and moaning as I raked my nails down his back and brought my pelvis up to meet his rough thrusts. He gripped my hips as he went to his knees and pulled me to his waist, burrowing so deeply inside me I moaned out his name.
“That’s it, Sunshine.” He hammered faster into me, the sound of our flesh me
eting filling the room. “Tell me you like this.”
“Mm,” I whimpered.
“Fucking tell me, Rosalie.” He slammed harder into me, his grip tightening. “I won’t stop torturing this sweet pussy until you tell me what I want to hear.”
“I like it,” I cried out. I reached out for him.
He wasted no time in snatching me up and pulling me onto his lap, his dick still buried deep inside me.
“Fuck me,” he demanded, nipping at my earlobe. “Ride my cock.”
I rocked on his dick, not giving one damn about what the hell we were doing. Enzo was wild, and he brought out the carefree side in me. I was living in the moment, convincing myself I deserved this. I deserved to feel good. I was taking from him. From Juliet. I was the one winning.
His lips met mine in a frenzied kiss, both of us sweating, our bodies sliding against each other as I rode him hard.
“Like this?” I whispered breathlessly against his lips.
“Fucking just like that, beautiful,” he breathed out, moving his head down to kiss along my breasts as he helped lift me up and down on his dick. “Fuck, I love your pussy. So fucking good.”
The sweeping heat of my impending orgasm gripped me, and I let out a moan of pleasure, throwing my head back. Enzo shoved into me harder, the pain he gave mixed with pleasure as I crashed around him, his groans of ecstasy filling my ears. His cock pulsed inside me as he came down from his high. We both held on to each other, breathing hard.
He traced his fingers lightly over my back, making goosebumps pop along my skin. His lips pressed to mine in a soft kiss.
Realization set in at what I’d done. I hadn’t meant to take it that far. Sane me knew it was wrong. Crazy me wanted it. Both were at war with one another.
I pushed away from his lips and stared at him, horrified.
“Don’t look at me like that, Sunshine,” he murmured. “We both needed it. We both wanted it. I won’t tell anyone.”
“Ian will kill me,” I choked out. This was definitely fodder to fuck with me. And knowing Enzo the way I did based on past experiences with him and the horsemen, this was fuel for their fire. If they told Ian I screwed Enzo, they probably figured they’d be fucking me over and ruining what I had, thus freeing me up for them. What they didn’t know is that he’d probably kill me. For real.
