Beauty In Her Madness (Winterland Tale Book 3)

by Stacey Marie Brown

  Chapter 20

  Music thumped loudly through the house. Heat exploded across my skin as tons of bodies milled around the living room and kitchen of the two-story. Coeds holding red cups and cans of beer mingled under the glow of Christmas lights. It looked like a typical college bachelor house, with only a few pieces of furniture barely holding their shape. Everything was mismatched, banged up, and for reasons I’d rather not think about, sticky.

  I spotted many people from my classes at the university. By their double takes, comments, and mouth drops, either they didn’t recognize me at first or didn’t believe I was actually at a party. I will give Lei credit; she did a good job putting me together. We were close enough in size that her short silver sequined skirt, black booties, and tank fit me perfectly. It was more an outfit Alice would wear, but this night seemed all about pushing my boundaries.

  Sucking on a beer I opened myself, I followed Lei around for the first hour. As studious as she was, she was very popular. She had tutored a lot of the basketball jocks, and they all greeted her with warm hugs and high fives when she came in, then directed their attention to me.

  “Who’s your friend, Lei?” One flicked his chin at me, his brown eyes sparking with interest, running down my figure. I had seen his photo around enough to know he was one of the basketball stars. He was tall, built, and good looking with blondish wavy hair and dimples. He had a cheeky smile that probably had most girls dropping their panties the instant he used it on them.

  “Her name is Dinah, and she’s off limits, Jacob.” She wiggled a finger at him. “Remember, I’ve been tutoring you for a year. I’ve seen what you’ve tramped through. She’s not your type.”

  “What, gorgeous?”

  “No, smart,” Lei jabbed back.

  Jacob dropped his head back, howling with laughter. “That hurts, Okada.” Calling her by her last name, he slapped his hands over his heart, feigning offense, but the dimpled smirk showed he was anything but. “Plus, it’s mean to discriminate, Okada. I welcome all.”

  She snorted, shaking her head. Another player next to her dragged her over to play ping-pong, leaving me with blondie.

  “I’m Jacob, by the way.” His eyes came back on me, a dimple popping his cheek. He had an easygoing persona, which relaxed me a bit.

  “Nice to meet you. Dinah.” I pointed at myself.

  “I know.” He smiled wider.

  God, I was awkward. I’d never needed to do this and had no idea how to flirt, not that I wanted to. I just realized I was utterly clueless about everything. I was so used to having a boyfriend; I never did any kind of courtship or the getting-to-know-you stuff. I felt so uncomfortable and stiff.

  “Hey, relax.” Jacob folded his arms, his smile sweet and warm. “No matter what Lei says, I’m not a bad guy. I promise.” He held up his hands, his beer swishing in his cup. “I’ll try really hard not to hit on you.”

  “Thanks.” I laughed. “Appreciate it.” I took another drink, feeling slightly more at ease. “It’s me. I don’t come to parties, like…ever.”

  “Really? Why?”

  “I’ve always had a boyfriend. I guess I thought parties and the whole crazy college thing were not in the plan.”

  He watched me for another moment before he pushed off the counter, his tall form moving closer to mine. “So, what brought you to this one, Dinah?”

  “I don’t know.”

  He inched even closer, looming over me, my breath sucking in slightly at his nearness, but I couldn’t seem to step back, frozen in place.

  “Where’s the boyfriend?” His voice went slightly lower, creating an intimacy. His body was so close, his scent caught in my nose. It was familiar, like the sea and warm sand. The smell slammed my heart against my chest.

  “I don’t know,” I whispered, my eyes not venturing past his chest, afraid to look up.

  “You don’t know…as he’s somewhere around here and you lost him, or you don’t know because you no longer have one?” He inched even closer, heat pulsing against my exposed skin, tightening my throat. I should’ve shoved him, walked away. It was clear this guy was a player, but a thrill zinged up my nerves. I never hooked up at a party, never had a one-night stand, never even kissed another guy.

  Not a real one anyway.

  “Dinah?” My name came out hoarse and wanting, tightening my thighs.

  “The latter. We broke up.” I felt dizzy and out of control, my mouth speaking before I could think rationally about it.

  Jacob leaned down, his mouth close to my ear. “You don’t know how happy it makes me, wahine. I’ve been waiting forever for you.”

  Sucking in sharply, my head snapped up. Seafoam-green eyes peered down at me; a cheeky grin pulled up on his beautiful tan face.

  “Blaze?”

  His hands slid up my neck to my jaw, cupping my face, his lips taking mine, answering me with his mouth instead of his words. His soft, warm lips claimed mine hungrily. It was like stepping into a warm bath, engulfing me and melting my muscles.

  It wasn’t long before my shock dissolved away, and I was responding as feverishly. I tingled with excitement at feeling his mouth move against mine, his tongue sweeping in, deepening the kiss.

  A groan ebbed up from his throat. “Fuck, Dinah.” He moved us out of the bright kitchen into a darker corner of the living room. “You don’t know how long I’ve wanted to do that. Really kiss you. And it’s still not really me.”

  I felt so buzzed; my mind couldn’t think past wanting more. Going up on my toes, my lips covered his, my teeth nipping his mouth.

  “Santa’s elf,” he hissed, his body pressing me harder into the wall, his erection burning against my stomach. “Come to me.”

  “Where?”

  “Winterland,” he muttered against my ear, biting my neck. “I want to spread you out on my bed in my bungalow overlooking the ocean and make love to you all night. I will discover every inch of your body.”

  My breath slowed, my pussy contracting at his words, the promise of endless pleasure, of losing myself for a bit, fluttered exhilaration in my stomach. Blaze would take care of me. I knew that, and I needed it so badly. I hadn’t had good sex in forever, and my body trembled at the possibility.

  Still, I was hesitant. And not about the person I should have been.

  “Don’t think, Dinah. It’s not complicated. Your body needs it, and I want nothing more than to give it to you.” His hands skated down my sides, brushing my breasts, his hips rolling against me. “I want you coming so hard that everyone in Winterland will hear you.”

  “Yes,” I responded, not wanting to think about anything but feeling good for a night.

  “Thank Claus,” he exhaled, twining our fingers. He was about to turn around when a hand came down on his shoulder. In a blink, his frame was torn from mine, and he was shoved across the room.

  “Stay the fuck away from her.” A dark-haired guy even taller and more built snarled down at Jacob/Blaze before turning to me.

  I sucked in. It was Mr. Basketball himself, the guy who constantly hit on me, but his normally hazel eyes were icy blue like last time.

  Frost.

  “What the fuck is your problem, brother?” Blaze popped up, shoving at Frost, not moving him an inch, drawing attention from the crowd.

  Frost stepped up to Blaze, growling. “You don’t touch her.”

  “She can decide for herself. And she already has. It’s always been us. She’s always chosen to be with me. Not you,” he knocked at his brother, a smirk of satisfaction on his mouth. “Right, Dinah?”

  I couldn’t speak, gaping at the two. Their shells might have looked similar to guys I didn’t really know, but everything else was so much the Miser brothers I knew, all I could see was them.

  Frost snorted at my silence, his head tipping to the side, his tone cold and angry. “I told you. She’s mine.” It was not a claim, but a threat.

  Blaze glared at his brother.

  “Holy shit! Jacob and Trevor are fighti
ng over the same girl,” a guy hollered through the living room.

  Trevor! Right, that was Mr. Basketball’s name.

  “Aren’t they best friends?”

  Whispers hummed around my ear, eyes digging into me with curiosity, slamming panic and anxiety into me.

  “Who is she?”

  “Is it Dinah Liddell?”

  “They’re fighting over Dinah? Doesn’t she have a boyfriend?”

  Frost stepped up to his brother, shoulders back, lifting his chin in a challenge, both of them ready to throw down.

  I had to get out. Reality and fantasy were spinning and colliding in my head. For a moment I had given in, letting the world in, but now I realized how insane this all was—if it were actually happening. I could have been acting on things not even occurring, as I did at Scott’s party.

  Not trusting my senses, I grabbed my jacket and rushed through the crowd, needing to get out of there.

  “Dinah!” Blaze yelled, but I ran for the front door.

  “Hey!” Lei grabbed my arm, yanking me to a stop, her eyes wide. “What the hell? I leave you alone for five minutes, and you have the two most popular, hot-as-hell basketball stars fighting over you? Damn, girl, I’m impressed!” She winked at me. “Best way to get over someone is to get under another one…or two.”

  Sex. The thing I had been so certain of a moment ago had dissolved into indecision, guilt, and fear.

  How could I so quickly jump into bed with someone when Scott’s outline was still marked in ours?

  “Dinah?” Blaze called my name through the throng, moving toward me.

  “I’m sorry, I’m going home.” I patted Lei’s hand. “I’ll call you later.”

  “No…wait.”

  “This was a mistake. I’m not ready.” I didn’t give her a chance to respond, running out the door and down the sidewalk. Flipping through my apps for Uber, I scuttled farther down the icy pathway. The bitter temperature nipped at my nose and cheeks, the streetlights casting a yellow glow on the fresh snow as my feet carried me down the street. I didn’t want to be right in front of the house for Blaze to find me.

  Dogs barked in the distance, and muted music from the house danced in the otherwise quiet night. My heeled boots clicked over the slushy cement, my attention on my phone, too busy trying to order a ride home to pay attention to my surroundings.

  Stupid.

  Arms came around me, a large hand covering my mouth, blocking the scream that tore from my throat. Fear slammed through me. Thrashing, I tried to scream again, my legs kicking back, heels slamming into the perpetrator’s shins as he carried me off the street and into the side yard of a dark house. No streetlights or witnesses.

  “Stop,” a voice growled in my ear, arms tightening around me, spearing even deeper terror through me.

  Was this where I would be raped? Murdered?

  “Stop fighting,” he rumbled again, setting me down, his strength slamming me back into the wall of the house, his body pinning mine. Repulsively, and against my will, my body responded to the feel of his erection pushing into me, my skirt pushing up, the feel of it hot and pulsing against me. “All you’re doing is rubbing against this asshole’s dick.”

  Adrenaline was pumping so hard it took me a moment to take in the storm-colored blue eyes, the dark hair, and the smell of snow filling my nose.

  Frost.

  Sort of. In the deep shadows, it was easier to see him than Trevor. I stopped fighting, but my guard was high, ready to attack again if I needed to.

  “We keep finding ourselves like this, don’t we?” His deep voice rushed heat across my chest and up my neck.

  “Not willingly on my part.” My teeth gritted in irritation, feeling the lie sink down between my legs.

  His cheek twitched. It appeared he didn’t believe me either.

  “Stay away from my brother.” His hands restrained my arms back, his form fully on mine, his lids tapered.

  “No.” I held up my chin. “You don’t get to tell me what to do.” My anger at how my evening ended because of him lashed out. “I can fuck whoever I want whenever I want.”

  His eyes flashed, a snarl parting his lips, and I swore for a second I saw the canine teeth grow into points, but then they were gone.

  “You’re wrong, little one.” He pushed harder against my frame, my skirt rising even more as he rolled against me, the fabric of my underwear and his jeans rubbing me. “You are mine.”

  Desire clubbed me like a bat, tipping my head back, my lashes fluttering. Fear still pounded in my lungs, and danger throbbed in my veins, the cold air nibbling my skin. Everything felt alive. Hungry.

  “I belong to no one,” I tried to snap back, but my voice came out hoarse.

  “Really?” Frost moved his hand to my head, gripping tightly onto my hair, angling my face to his. “Your nice, comfy boyfriend would not like to hear that.”

  “There is no boyfriend.” The declaration came out before I could shove it back in.

  Frost’s eyes sparked, a smirk hinting on his lips. “I’m so sorry.”

  “No, you’re not.”

  “You’re right. I couldn’t give a shit about the tosser. He’s a nice, good boy, but he was not for you.”

  “What does that mean?” Emotion flared up, and I shoved against his frame.

  “You do not deserve the good boy, nor do you want him.”

  “Yes, I do.”

  “You are a liar.” His free hand dropped, trailing up my thigh, gripping it possessively, spreading fire and ice through me, causing every nerve to ignite. “You crave someone who defies you, pushes, challenges, possesses. Shatters your world until you can’t breathe. Claims every inch of you.”

  “I’m not an object to own. And I’m perfectly happy with who I am and what I want.”

  “You have no clue who you are anymore.” He snarled. “I’ve never met a girl who needs to be more deeply fucked than you. To the point you don’t even know if you exist. Hard. Raw. Brutal. And a lot.”

  I huffed indignantly at his words. I’d never had a guy talk that way to me. Dirty talk or domineering behavior were never things I enjoyed… Or so I thought.

  Frost’s words poured down me, igniting logic into a burst of flames. Desperate need pulsed through my body, my pussy wet and throbbing, my head fogging with desire.

  “No, I—” His palm ran over my ass then back to my inner thigh, inching up to my underwear. His other hand wrapped tightly in my hair, stopping my refusal with a gasp. Pleasure and pain battled together, my back aching, proving my own retaliation useless.

  A smirk hinted on his mouth like he knew no matter what my head might want to say, my body was agreeing. Which rained fury through me.

  “It’s time for you to be punished for your crimes, Dinah. For what you did.”

  “I-I didn’t do anything.”

  His fingers yanked off my knickers. I hissed through my teeth, trying to fight the sensations taking over me, the cold air brushing my wet folds, the tatters of my logic telling me to stop. Danger.

  Earlier with Blaze, it felt good. Wanting. Lustful. Safe in the way I knew he would make love to me. Delicious sex under the warm sun, leaving a smile on my face.

  Frost tossed everything safe over the ledge. He ripped the ground from underneath me, ready to shove me over the side. Fear and desire collided, crashing and tearing into each other. Clawing and kicking until I couldn’t decipher between the two, my heart pounding in brutal beats against my ribs.

  He wouldn’t make love. He would fuck. Brutal and untamed. He would leave me shattered and broken. The vehemence in his eyes told me he could possess, claim, take, and destroy me. Obliterate. Leave nothing but ruins.

  Danger. Violence.

  And I wanted it.

  Craved it.

  Needed it.

  His fingers slid through me, and a noise huffed from my throat.

  “You are fucking dripping for me,” he growled in my ear, causing me to become even wetter. “I can feel how bad
you want it…need it so bad you can’t even think.” His fingers moved deeper.

  “Yes.” I couldn’t seem to control the thoughts coming off my tongue. “Please don’t stop this time.”

  “You think you deserve it? After all you’ve done?”

  “Yes.” Feverish hunger attacked my nerves with bliss. “Please.”

  “A favor for a favor.” His fingers pulled out, playing so lightly with me, my body shook with wild need.

  “Frost…” My hips bucked into him, demanding more, but he kept his hand barely grazing me. Torturing me.

  “You have to come to me tomorrow.”

  “So, you can hold me prisoner again?” I sneered. “Hell no.”

  He lifted his eyebrow, his thumb rolling over the bundle of nerves.

  “Oh god.” I arched, my body out of my control.

  “You want to come?” He nibbled my ear, his voice making me clench. “You come to me tomorrow. And I can do anything I deem worthy of your punishment.”

  “No.” I snapped. “I’m not an animal.”

  “Animals deserve far better treatment than you do, little one.” He ran a single finger through me, pressing in.

  “Holy fuck.” My body jolted; air ripped from my lungs. Every nerve felt like a hot wire, twitching and flaring, needing release so badly it hurt.

  “Dinah?”

  I could no longer think, desperation coiling my mind into a wild beast.

  He started to pull away.

  “No!” My hand grabbed his wrist. His eyes fell on me with smug assurance. “Yes, fine! Yes!” I would say anything he wanted.

  “What I thought.” The smugness grew over his mouth. Part of me wanted to slap him, and the other part only wanted him more. He moved in closer, his teeth dragging by my ear. “Now tell me, little one, do you want nice and safe?” His free hand tugged down my tank until he exposed my breasts, the cold air teasing my hot skin. My nipples were so hard and sensitive, I felt myself pushing into his hand, desperate to be touched, but he waited for my response. “Does your blood boil for adventure? For danger?”

  He pulled his hand away, his intense gaze on me causing my desperation for him to soar.