Blackthorn Elite: The Entire Series

by Beck, J. L.

  “She’s a bitch, Warren. You never should’ve let her back into your life,” Easton yells back, the deep gravelly sound resonating through me.

  “Shut the fuck up!” Warren snarls, and I look to Cameron, who doesn’t seem phased by the events that are taking place just outside the room.

  “Warren can be a little intense sometimes,” he mumbles, pulling me into his side. Even though I know Easton can hold his own, I’m still worried that something is going to happen to him. I don’t say anything, and instead, listen as the sounds outside the room die down.

  Staring at the bedroom door, I wait for Easton to appear.

  “Worried?” Cam whispers into the shell of my ear.

  “I know I shouldn’t care, but I’m a little worried. Why is that guy acting like that?” I don’t expect him to tell me, neither of them share anything with me usually, but when he sighs and opens his mouth to speak again, my interest is piqued.

  “Warren is unhinged. He’s very much like us, a monster that hides beneath a mask. His relationship with his girl is complicated, and if I had to guess, I’m going to assume she disappeared, and he knew nothing about it. So, since she’s not here to bear his wrath, he takes it out on everyone and everything in sight.”

  “Sounds like he needs therapy,” I blurt out without thinking.

  Cameron snorts, a bubble of laughter escaping his lips, “We all need some type of therapy, but that shit is stupid. Sitting in a room with someone, talking out your problems. Pfft, breaking stuff, and learning to cope with it on your own is easier.”

  “How do you cope?” I question.

  “I have you…” he answers without question.

  I open my mouth to respond when the bedroom door opens, and Easton steps inside, closing the door behind him. His eyes are dark, and his face is serious.

  “We need to get out of here for a little while. He’s going to self-destruct, and I don’t think having her here is going to help.” Easton speaks as if I’m not sitting right in front of him.

  “Okay,” Cam says, ungluing himself from my side. As soon as he’s gone, I miss the warmth his body gave me. “Let’s go do some shopping. She needs some clothes anyway.”

  Easton’s lips turn up into a grin, “Yeah, that would be fun, we can dress up our little doll however we want.”

  Ignoring the fact that they are talking about me like I’m not here, I insert myself into the conversation. “Did you just say that you are taking me out shopping?” Excitement sparks inside of me. I haven’t been out of this house in two days.

  “Yes, let’s go. Just don’t have the stupid idea to try and run away from us.”

  I almost roll my eyes. “I won’t.” Probably not, unless I get a really good chance. “But… you know I don’t have any money, right?”

  Easton shrugs, “We’ll pay. Plus, we technically owe you payment for your dancing.”

  I haven’t danced for them, and knowing what he is talking about makes my stomach churn. I don’t want them to pay me for sex.

  Cam must be reading my mind because he gives me a soft smile and helps me off the bed. “Don’t think about it like that, sweetheart.”

  I can feel Easton’s eyes on me, tracking every step I take like a predator. I won’t say it out loud, but it will be nice to have clothes of my own, even though I know that letting them buy them for me will mean I’m indebted to them in another way.

  Walking out of the bedroom, Cameron takes the lead holding my hand in his while Easton follows behind us. When they are being nice to me like this, holding my hand, and doing stuff for me, I can almost forget why I’m here. If it could always be this way…

  My thoughts evaporate into smoke when I hear glass breaking somewhere in the house. Cameron pauses in the entryway and exchanges a look with Easton. It’s so strange because though they aren’t brothers, they act as if they are in every way.

  “Put your shoes on,” Cameron orders me, and I slip my feet into the single pair of sneakers beside the door. Ushering me out of the house and to the car, Cameron releases my hand and slides into the driver’s seat while Easton sits beside me in the back.

  An electric current ripples between us. We’re like fire and gasoline right now, one spark and everything could catch on fire. Doing my best to ignore the blistering heat between us, I place my hands in my lap and look out the window.

  “Does this mean my house arrest is over?” I direct my attention to Cameron, but Easton clears his throat and answers.

  “No, it’s just started. When you prove you can be trusted, then it’ll be lifted.”

  “I have proven I can be trusted. I haven’t told anyone about James.” I twist in my seat to face him. I’m aware I’m taunting a beast, but I’m tired of him never showing any emotion but anger. I want to know what lurks deeper beneath the surface. I want to see what makes him tick.

  “Do you want to end up like James?” Easton taunts.

  Even though I know he can’t be serious, there is still a sliver of fear that fills my belly.

  “You wouldn’t kill me.” I cross my arms over my chest. In a split second, I’m being dragged across the seat by my hair.

  Gasping, I fight against Easton’s grasp, a shudder rippling down my spine when his teeth nip at my earlobe, “Give me a reason to test that theory, and I’ll prove to you just how bad Cameron and I can be.”

  “Easton,” Cameron warns from the front seat, but he doesn’t release me yet.

  “We can be the biggest, scariest monsters you’ve ever seen, or we can be two gentlemen that only treat you and fuck you like a whore behind closed doors. Only you decide what happens.”

  Without warning, he releases me, and I remain like that, sprawled across his lap. Easton smirks like the devil who was just sold someone’s soul.

  That snaps me out of it, and I scurry across the seat. I try to ignore the way my core burns, and my insides tingle with anticipation. Is it possible that I’m sick? Mentally ill? Or just Stockholm syndrome? Why did that turn me on? It’s wrong, and yet I want him to do it again.

  To wrap his hand up in my hair and force his cock into my mouth. Yes, something is very wrong with me.

  “Stop taunting him, Stella,” Cameron calls, and when I look up, I find him grinning in the rearview mirror at me. He thinks this is funny. Well, it’s not. None of this is funny. I press my lips into a firm line and remain quiet the rest of the drive. Just as Cameron is parking, I see that he’s brought us to the mall.

  Oh, joy.

  “Don’t try anything funny, or I swear to god, I will take you over my knee and spank your ass before I fuck it so everyone within a two-block radius can hear.”

  I know his words are supposed to be a fearful warning, but they aren’t. It does something entirely different to me. Not that I’m going to tell him that. Together we all get out of the car and walk into the mall. It’s strange how normal this feels, especially since it shouldn’t feel this way. I don’t feel like myself as excitement zings through me as Easton and Cam guide me through each store.

  They encourage me to try anything and everything on, and even though I tell them I don’t want something, they make sure I get it simply by sliding their card at the checkout like it’s no big deal.

  While Cameron and Easton are rough, dark, and scary, they’ve changed my life for the better. It feels like they’ve taken from me, and they have in many ways, but they’ve given to me too. After we shop, we share lunch together in the food court, and I even get Easton to smile, which is a very rare occurrence.

  On the way out to the car, we pass a group of girls who glare at me and bat their lashes at the guys. I have no reason to feel jealous, but I do. It feels like Easton and Cameron are mine, and having those girls look at them, it enrages me.

  I toss my bags into the back of the car and get into the backseat, Easton following behind me. On the way home, I tell myself that regardless of how things have been, my life has never been as good as it is right now. Grams is happy and taken care of,
which is something I could never offer her if I was still working in the kitchen at the university.

  “Do you think I could go and see Grams again soon?” I ask.

  “We can arrange something, yes, but Cam or I will be with you during your visit.”

  I shrug, “That’s fine, but just to warn you, you’ll be bored the entire time. Grams is either knitting or watching tv.”

  Easton grins, “I like visiting with Grams, so I’m not bothered by that at all. Plus, it gives me a chance to make sure that the hospital is keeping up on their end of the bargain.”

  “Which is what?” I counter, curious as to what he offered the hospital. I knew it was him and Cameron that had something to do with Grams’ treatment change, but I can’t pinpoint what it is that they would’ve said? Threatened them, maybe? Offered them money? The possible ways this could go are endless.

  “Nothing you have to worry about,” Easton dismisses the topic, and I cross my arms, feeling like a child all over again.

  “I’ll take you to see Grams this week,” Cameron announces from the front, saving the day and me from spiraling down a monstrous hole of emotions.

  “Thank you,” I reply, feeling a little less upset by Easton’s dismissal. Though I’m not completely their equal, I’m being given everything I could ever want or need, and that’s worth being grateful for because the alternative could be way worse.

  61

  Easton

  “Ever been drunk, princess?” I ask as we sit in Cameron’s bedroom. I just got back from classes, and Cam has been home all day cuddling, and doing god knows what with Stella. If he was anyone else, I’d be slaughtering him, but Cam is like a brother to me, and sharing with him is like breathing. It’s natural.

  “Stop calling me that,” Stella lashes out with annoyance, “I’m not a princess. In fact, I’m far from one.”

  Damn right.

  I grin, seeing her get all worked up, “Okay, have you ever been drunk, Stella?” Her name rolls off my tongue thickly, and all I can think about is the things I could do with that tongue between her thighs. God, I have to stop thinking about that, or I’m going to have to fuck her before we leave.

  “No,” she answers bashfully.

  “This should be fun,” Cam snorts.

  “What should be fun?” she asks, looking between us.

  “We’re going to take you somewhere. To see if you can hang with the Blackthorn Elite,” Cam answers without giving her any other information.

  Stella perks up, “Wait, we’re going to a party?” Even though she tries to hide it, I can see her excitement.

  “We are, and in case you were wondering, yes, this is a test,” I narrow my gaze on her face, dropping slowly to her full, pink lips. I have this strange urge to kiss her, to taste her, to draw out her feelings, and see if they mirror my own.

  “Of course, it is. What do I wear?” She blinks, breaking eye contact.

  Cam smiles widely, “That little red cocktail dress we bought you the other day. Wear that.”

  Stella’s face fills with horror, “No, it’s too short, and I already told you both that I would never wear that scrap of fabric out of the house.”

  Crossing my arms over my chest, I can feel the anger rolling through me. Stella isn’t good at taking orders, but I don’t give a shit. She needs to learn to do what she’s fucking told. This is the precise reason we’re at loggerheads right now.

  “I don’t remember asking you if you wanted to wear it.”

  Sitting up a little straighter, she flickers her gaze between Cam and me before settling her gaze back on mine.

  “Do you really want everyone to see what is yours?”

  I almost grin. Almost.

  “So, we’re playing this game now, huh?” I taunt.

  Something close to fear sparks in her gray eyes, “Cam,” she pleads softly, looking to him for help, but little does she know, Cam isn’t running this show. I am.

  “He can’t help you, and even if he could, he wouldn’t.” I curl my lip, anger boiling over at the audacity she has to look to him, “You’re going to wear the dress, and yes, everyone will look at you, but they will know when they see you with us that you’re ours, and that will be significant enough for them, and if it isn’t, then we will handle it. But you’re wearing that dress, even if I have to put it on you myself.”

  My jaw aches as I clench it, waiting for her objection, but it never comes. Instead, she gets up and walks into the closet. A second later, she appears before me, the dress in her hands. She strips out of her clothes, and I can’t stop myself from dragging my gaze over her naked chest and bare belly.

  Full tits that my cock would fit perfectly between.

  Fuck. I’m hard as steel in an instant, and I curl my hands into tight fists to stop myself from reaching out to touch her. Maintaining eye contact, she steps into the dress and shimmy’s it up her body. I watch her body disappear beneath the tight fabric and damn near curse when she turns around, holding the dress in place with her hands.

  “At least zip me up,” she says, tossing some of her blonde hair over her shoulder. I want to bite that soft skin, mark her.

  Out of the corner of my eye, I can see Cameron snickering on the bed.

  Fucker.

  “Of course,” I force my fist to uncurl and grab onto the tiny zipper, dragging it upward. As soon as she’s completely zipped up, I drop my hand and take a step back. She whirls around, and I drink her in, getting my first view of her. The dress hugs her body perfectly, and her breasts swell out the top.

  Maybe she was right, she shouldn’t wear this thing out of the house. Fuck, if I tell her that though.

  “Happy?” She crosses her arms over her chest, drawing my attention back to her breasts. Fuck me.

  Swallowing down my arousal, I refuse to let her know how hard I am for her right now, and how right she is about not wearing this dress out of the house.

  “Very,” I force a smile, knowing damn well I’ll be in at least one fistfight by the end of the night.

  * * *

  Stella sticks out like a flower in a field full of weeds as she brings the cup to her lips. She doesn’t belong here, with us, mingling with the Blackthorn assholes. Not because she’s less than people here, but because she is better than us.

  She’s kind, sweet to the core and naive in the best ways. Anyone in this room can see that from a mile away. All of us are corrupted by money, sex, and secrets. Her, she’s like a butterfly, innocent, beautiful, full of light. Free, with nothing holding her back.

  Parker and his girlfriend, Willow, show up shortly after we arrive. Annoyingly, Stella becomes glued to Willow’s side. They drink and mingle, and even I find myself relaxing a little, sipping at my beer, and watching Stella as she enjoys herself, maybe a little more than she should.

  “Shit, that bitch is coming over here,” Cameron elbows me in the side, and I drag my gaze away from Stella and over to Carly, who is headed toward us like a heat-seeking missile.

  “Easton,” she coo’s once within earshot, batting her long thick lashes at me like that’s going to get me to undo my pants and fuck her.

  “Carly,” I greet, letting my eyes roam over her. She’s wearing a dress similar to Stella’s but where Stella is soft, real, and innocent. Carly is fake, not only in the way she acts but in every sense of the word. She hides behind makeup and her daddy’s money, and I’m not interested in that. But that doesn’t mean I can’t pretend to be.

  I can feel Stella watching me, and I allow myself to sneak a look at her. Her delicate jaw is clenched, and she looks like a kitten ready to explode with anger.

  “Want to go upstairs?” Carly steps closer and places a well-manicured hand against my chest. I look down at it, and then over at Stella. A few weeks ago, I would have said yes in a heartbeat, but now the only person I’m interested in is Stella. I have to admit, I do like seeing her reaction right now. I like seeing the fire in her eyes flicker, it tells me that she’s in just as deep with us
as we are with her.

  Realizing my attention isn’t on her, Carly twists around, her gaze pinning Stella.

  “Who the hell are you?” Carly sneers, flipping her bleach blonde hair over her shoulder. “I don’t remember inviting you.”

  Stella blinks, slowly, her face a mask of confusion as she looks between Carly and me.

  “Stella, and I’m here with Easton and Cameron.”

  Carly places a hand on her hip, “Oh, are you now?”

  “Yes, I am.”

  “Funny, I’ve never seen you with them before. Do you go to Blackthorn, or are you a cheap stripper they hired?” Carly purses her lips and bats her eyes. Cam moves to take a step, most likely going to interject, but I give him a look that tells him to let things play out.

  “I… I’m…”

  Carly taps her foot impatiently. “You’re what? A stripper or a whore? Too stupid to get into Blackthorn? Or just too poor? Tell me, please.”

  My teeth grind together at each insult that Carly slings at her. She’s a fucking bitch but telling her that will only inflate her ego.

  “Wait,” Carly gasps. “I have seen you before. You work in the cafeteria.” She tips her head back and starts laughing like someone just told her the funniest joke ever.

  “Stop being a bitch, Carly,” Willow cuts in before Stella can respond.

  “Me? I’m not being a bitch. Just wondering why the help is trying to be one of us.” Carly smiles, but she looks more like a shark showing off all her teeth.

  Willow rolls her eyes, “I’m sure you’ve got more important things to do than bully her.” Parker, who was talking to some guy off to the side, hears Willow talking and walks up to her side. He takes in the scene before him and pierces Carly with a glare.

  Like a dog, Carly cowers, tucking her tail between her legs. That’s the thing about Parker. He doesn’t hide his darkness; he wears it like a medal of honor, and anyone who fucks with him or his girl will be taken out by it.