I tugged the lid off of the sharpie using my teeth and spat it onto the bed beside us as I assessed her skin, trying to feel the right design in the tension that coiled through the air between us.
“Hold still, baby,” I murmured as I supported her arm in my left hand and began to draw with my right.
The pen was thicker than I’d have liked for the delicate design I marked out, but I ignored that slight flaw as I concentrated on what I was doing, outlining a lotus flower coming into bloom at the centre of the piece before working out from there.
Tatum sat quietly, watching me work as I tried to create something that embodied the fierceness of her spirit with the beauty of her soul. I turned her arm slowly in my grip, painting out more and more fine lines, a web of intricate details that made it look like her skin was dressed in jewels. But the edges of them were sharp enough to cut. There was beauty and purity in the piece, but there was savagery in it too.
I lost myself in the creation of it as the minutes ticked by and Tatum just sat there, her hips pressed down over mine as her breathing grew shallow.
When I was finally done, I looked up at her and found her gaze on me instead of the design I’d drawn on her arm and the sight of her dilated pupils made my pulse quicken.
I tossed the sharpie down on my nightstand and tangled my fingers with hers as I raised her arm for her to inspect. I’d been so lost in my art that I hadn’t noticed the tension growing in the room between us, the heat of our breath kindling in the space that divided us, the way my body had responded to being so close to hers for so long.
My dick was hard and throbbing between her thighs and the way her teeth sank into her bottom lip said she was feeling the heat in the room just as keenly.
“It’s…fucking perfect, Kyan. I’ve never really considered getting a tattoo but this is coming close to convincing me. You’re really talented,” she murmured as her eyes fell on her arm and she turned it back and forth slowly, admiring her fake tattoo from every angle. “You could make a fortune doing this.”
“Naw,” I scoffed lightly and her brows pinched in a frown.
“Why not?” she asked, still keeping my fingers mixed up with hers and squeezing slightly.
“Let’s just say, my future is already mapped out,” I replied vaguely, not wanting to think about my family right now.
She seemed to catch on to that fact and let the subject go with a crease forming between her brows.
“So where is the eagle going to live once you’re happy with him?” Tatum asked, glancing down at my bare chest for a moment.
I used my grip on her hand to tug her fingers to my stomach, pressing them against my flesh and using my own hand to push the waistband of my sweatpants even lower so that her fingers skimmed down over the unbranded skin which ran over my pelvis.
She took over the movement, fingers circling over the skin which should have been beneath my pants as her gaze moved back up to meet mine and my dick continued to throb between her thighs. There wasn’t much chance she couldn’t feel it, but neither of us had said anything about it or made any move to part from each other.
“Kyan,” she began slowly, my name on her lips almost a plea as she watched me for my reaction.
“Yeah?” I asked, not moving a damn muscle as I waited to see where she was going with this.
“I’ve been thinking a lot about what you told me earlier… About what Deepthroat did to you-”
“I don’t wanna talk about that,” I growled in warning, but that fire in her eyes said she wasn’t going to drop it.
“I just think-”
I caught her waist between my hands, lifted her off of me and dropped her on the bed so that she fell back against the pillows with a squeal of surprise.
“I’ll get out of your way so that you can sleep.”
Before she could even scramble upright, I was out of bed, snatching my sketchbook from the nightstand and striding from the room.
“Kyan!” she called after me, but I ignored her, tossing the door shut behind me and striding out into the central part of the church.
Blake and Saint had taken themselves off to bed already and the darkness hanging over the place gave it an eerie feel. I headed down to the crypt with my blood pumping angrily as I tried not to think about what that fucking asshole, Deepthroat, had done to me. All my life I’d been subjected to all kinds of fucked up shit, born witness to death and violence so many times I couldn’t count it. But I could count the amount of times I’d found myself vulnerable and unable to defend myself, at the mercy of some fucking girl I’d never even given much thought to, let alone seen as a threat. But wasn’t that just the way life liked to fuck with you? I was given all of the tools necessary to defeat almost every demon imaginable and then the thing that nearly takes me down was something I never even would have imagined happening. Some fucking rich girl used to getting whatever the fuck she wanted and refusing to hear the word no. The thought of her hands on my body while I was out of it made my fucking skin crawl, the idea of what else could have happened made me want to fucking vomit.
I found a bottle of Jack Daniels and leaned back against the cold brick walls as I unscrewed the lid and tipped the whiskey between my parted lips, enjoying the burn of it on the way down.
My hard on was sinking fast with thoughts of that bitch; Deepthroat was more than enough to put a dampener on it and I gave myself a few minutes to fucking wallow as I drank.
When I’d swallowed around a quarter of the bottle, I screwed the top on it and placed it back where I’d found it before stalking upstairs with a warming fog of alcohol numbing that unpleasant prickle which had been creeping along my skin.
I flopped straight down on the couch, shoving my sketchbook in between the cushions as I threw one arm over my eyes and pushed another into my pants to cup my junk.
Sleep at least was an oblivion I could rely on and my breathing grew deep within minutes as I gave myself to the darkness and let it pull me away from reality.
***
I woke to the warmth of a soft body pressing against mine in the night, my head resting in her lap as she sat up and her fingers tangled in my hair.
Tatum murmured sleepily as I rolled over to look at her, her head tipped back against the cushions as she slept soundly on the couch with me.
I had no idea when she’d appeared and the why was enough to make my chest tighten. Why did she give a shit about me after all the things I’d done to her? Why would she have come out here to comfort me when she knew exactly the kind of monster I was?
She shifted in her seat as I watched her, her neck tipped back at an awkward angle and I sighed as I pushed myself to my feet.
I leaned down to pick her up and she mumbled something sleepily as she curled against my chest.
“Tell me about it, baby,” I muttered as I carried her back through the church to my room.
I placed her down on the bed and made a move to leave again, but her fingers caught mine before I could go anywhere.
“Stay,” she breathed, her eyelashes fluttering sleepily as she looked up at me and as she tugged on my fingers, I found myself giving in and letting her pull me down onto the bed beside her.
She scooted back to make room for me and the moment my head hit the pillow, she curved herself against my body, her head on my chest, leg curling over mine and fingertips brushing against my jaw softly.
I wanted to make some protest, but my eyes were already falling closed as I tugged her closer and the scent of vanilla honey blossom enveloped me as her golden hair tickled my nose. Something about that smell was soothing and my objections fell short before they even made it to my lips.
I wasn’t going to make a habit out of this. But for one night, I wasn’t going to fight it either.
***
I woke to the sound of Saint screaming curses as the distant recording of Blake jerking off played through his speakers and I laughed to myself as I pulled a pillow over my head. I didn’t really want to wake up, b
ut now that I had, I realised something was missing. Or someone. The shower was running in the bathroom beside my room and I groaned beneath my breath as I tossed the pillow aside and scrubbed a hand over my face.
The bed was empty beside me and a part of me wondered if I really had fallen asleep with Tatum Rivers in my arms or if I’d just been dreaming. But then again, if Tatum had been visiting me in my dreams, I could guarantee my dick would have been getting a lot more action than that.
I pushed myself to sit up on the side of my bed just as Tatum entered the room wrapped in a towel, her gaze dragging over me as I looked up at her.
This long silence passed between us and she slowly touched her fingers to the sharpie tattoo I’d given her last night. I was surprised she hadn’t scrubbed it off in the shower and almost asked her why not, but the words just kinda stuck in my throat.
“Morning,” I grunted, pushing myself to my feet.
“Morning,” she replied, clutching her towel in a way that suggested she was either making sure it didn’t fall or was about to drop it. And if she did that then every last crack in my armour would come crashing down.
I sidestepped her and headed into the bathroom, pulling the door closed with a sharp click as I headed for a piss, yawning through the dull headache the whiskey had delivered to me as a parting gift.
Blake knocked on the door on his side of the bathroom and I grunted to tell him it was me before he let himself in.
“I’m so fucking horny,” he complained, gripping his dick through his boxers as he strode across the room and set the shower running.
“What do you want me to do about it?” I asked through another yawn as I finished peeing and moved to wash my hands.
Blake turned to look at me with his eyes squinted and his head cocked to one side before sighing dramatically. “Nothing. Even with my eyes half shut and your girlishly long hair, I can’t convince myself you’re a girl. You’re too fucking big.”
I barked a laugh as he just stood there with a hard on in his boxers and a pout on his lips and I started brushing my teeth. I didn’t ask him why he didn’t just go and get laid. We hadn’t bothered to spell it out, but it was obvious why. The girl in my bedroom was the only one either of us wanted at the moment, though I was pretty sure that meant our balls were destined to stay blue. My life would have been so much fucking easier if I could have just fucked him instead. I already loved him so all I really needed to work on was my preference for knockout blondes with an attitude problem who happened to have nothing dangling between their legs and I’d be good to go.
I spat toothpaste into the sink and smirked at him. “You wish you were hot enough to land me,” I joked. “But I bet you fuck like a rich girl anyway. Your hands are too damn soft, Bowman.”
“C’mon, Kyan, you’ve seen the tape, I think we both know I could handle you.”
“You can give it, but I’d need you to take it, baby,” I teased and he smirked at me like he thought he could, before dropping his boxers and turning away into the shower.
“If this situation goes on much longer, I’ll consider it,” he joked and I laughed as I headed back out to my room.
Tatum gasped as I opened the door, snapping her school diary shut in a really fucking obvious way and I arched an eyebrow at her as I closed the bathroom door again.
“I thought you were showering,” she said, tucking the book beneath her leg like I might forget it was there. That shit was suspicious as hell.
“Blake is,” I explained, stalking towards her slowly as she tried not to squirm.
She’d pulled on one of my old band tees and her hair hung wet around her shoulders, making her look kinda innocent with her face bare of makeup. But I knew she was anything but that.
“How is this going to go, then?” I asked, moving to stand over her so that she was forced to crane her neck back to look up at me.
“What?” she breathed, batting her lashes as her cheeks heated like a virgin on her wedding night.
“I showed you mine, baby,” I purred. “So I’m gonna wanna see yours.”
“I don’t know what you-”
I lunged at her with a playful growl, knocking her back onto the bed beneath me as my weight fell over her and she squealed in surprise as I pinned her down.
“Give it up, baby,” I said as she wriggled and squirmed, her ass staying firmly on top of the diary as I fought to catch her hands.
She slapped me away and even punched me a few times, but I took the punishment as I crushed her under my weight and finally managed to snag her wrists into my grasp.
I grunted as she bucked beneath me, trying to get her knee into position to go for my damn balls again, but there was no way in hell I was giving her enough room to pull that shit twice.
“Kyan!” she shouted, half outraged, half laughing like she couldn’t decide what way this wrestling match was going yet.
I barked a laugh as I managed to get both of her wrists secured in one of my hands and leaned over the bed to snag my belt from the loops of a pair of jeans I’d tossed down there.
“Don’t!” she gasped as I wrapped it around her wrists and managed to force it through the buckle so that I could cinch it tight.
I laughed as she fought harder and suddenly her teeth sank into my shoulder. It hurt like a bitch and I grunted as I forced myself to take the pain of it without recoiling as I secured her wrists to my headboard.
“Harder, baby,” I hissed through the pain of her teeth. “Don’t stop until you’ve torn a chunk from me.”
She yanked her teeth back out of me and started cursing as she thrashed against the belt, making the headboard slam against the wall like we were doing something way more fun and giving my dick a few ideas of its own.
Once I was sure it would hold, I sat back with a triumphant grin, glancing at the teeth marks in my shoulder and smirking as I spotted the blood there.
“Wild girl,” I teased, catching hold of her thrashing legs and managing to get them under mine so that I was straddling her hips, my weight immobilising her as she panted beneath me.
“What the fuck?” she demanded, blowing a long strand of blonde hair out of her face, but it only floated back down into her eyes again.
I reached out like a true gent and tucked it behind her ear for her, getting off on having her at my mercy like that.
“You’ve been a naughty girl,” I purred, reaching beneath us and cupping her ass so that she gasped in shock. But as nice as her ass was in the little black panties she was wearing beneath my shirt, that wasn’t what I was after. My fingers dug into her peachy flesh and I lifted her ass up so that I could reach beneath her and tug the diary free. “I just need to figure out how naughty.”
“Wait,” she breathed, her eyes wide with concern as I looked down at her, the diary in my grip, ripe for the picking. “I…I’ll make you a deal,” she said, clearly trying to think up some clever scheme to get out of this. But curiosity always was my downfall. I never could just leave anything mysterious.
With a knowing grin, I flipped open the first page and glanced over it before making a show of licking my finger and turning the next.
“Is this what you like to do to girls?” Tatum asked, drawing my attention back to her for a moment as she flexed her fingers against the belt securing her wrists. “Tie them up like this?”
“Sometimes,” I agreed. Though really, that had been all of the time in the last eighteen months. Not that I’d admit it, but the idea of letting the girl be in charge had been pretty fucking repugnant to me after what Deepthroat had done and this had been a way for me to make sure things happened on my terms. And even though I wasn’t as bothered by all of that now as I had been right after it had happened, the girls I’d been fucking had been used to it so I hadn’t stopped.
“Is there more to it than this?” she pressed, dropping her voice seductively and I gave her a knowing smile as I turned another page in her diary. She wasn’t going to distract me from my task.
“Sure. If you wanna try it out sometime, you only have to ask. But be a good girl and stay quiet right now, yeah? I’m reading…”
Tatum cursed me and tried thrashing again, but there was no way she was getting free unless I let her go and I wouldn’t be doing that without figuring out what she’d been hiding from me in this book.
I flipped through every single page in the diary before reaching the very last one where my efforts were rewarded. There, in black ink on the white page, she’d written out a list. More than a few of the things on it had been crossed out but as I read over them, my heart started pumping ferociously. This wasn’t just a list, it was a promise. A fucking oath which she’d sworn to herself to get revenge on the monsters who had claimed her.
The sex tape
The fish stew
The Unspeakables
The storm
The font
The bathtub
The ice
The gun
The clothes
The humiliation
The shower
The letters
THE VOW
“Here was me thinking that you were getting comfortable with us, when we’ve been at war the whole time,” I teased, flipping the list around to show her and the raw hatred in her gaze made me pause. “What is it, baby, do you think I care that you’re out for revenge? That’s the kinda shit I like about you, remember?”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” she grunted and I looked over the list again, remembering each of the crimes she’d named and silently admitting what a bunch of utter fucking assholes we really were.
“Are you crossing these off as you get even?” I asked, eyeing the list. A few of them were pretty obvious now that I was looking at it in black and white. She’d destroyed Saint’s records in return for the letters, made the tape of Blake jerking off for the sex tape, covered me in fish just like we’d done to her…
“Yes,” she hissed, her blue eyes blazing with an anger so pure I could taste it.
“Well…” I read over the three things she still hadn’t crossed off before going on. “I haven’t really had anything to do with your whole clothes situation. And I’m not even sorry for the vow - I’m glad you belong to me.”
Kings of Lockdown: A Dark High School Bully Romance (Brutal Boys of Everlake Prep Book 2) Page 50
