by K. G. Reuss
Vincent sighed. “Just open the damn box.”
I took the box from him and opened it to find a silver crown with diamonds encrusted on it dangling from a silver chain.
“A king’s girl should always show who she belongs to. Do you like it?” Confident Vincent Valentino actually sounded nervous.
I nodded. “It’s pretty.”
“May I?”
I handed the box back to him and spun so he could latch it on me. His warm fingers brushed my skin a moment later as I faced the long mirror in my room, watching as he fastened the hook for me after brushing my hair aside.
I closed my eyes when his warm lips met the sensitive flesh of my neck and his arms wound around my waist.
“I could eat you up, baby B,” he said softly, sending a torrent of goosebumps skittering across my skin. He pressed another kiss to my neck and breathed out. “Come on. I need to stop by my place and change.”
He stepped away from me. I went to my closet and pulled out a pair of knee-high black boots and slid them on.
“Perfect,” he appraised, taking my hand and leading me from the room as I grabbed my phone. He locked the door behind us and walked beside me, not touching me.
“Where’s the dip?” I asked as we made it outside.
“It’s a place in the woods, a ravine. An old house sits in it. We fixed the place up when we got here, so it’s a decent party spot. It’s considered neutral grounds for kings and lords too, so be aware you may see Ivanov and his crew. It’s the one place where we put our differences aside and just relax.”
“So you’re all friends there?”
“Fuck no. We just try to keep that shit to campus and life. The dip is a place to let go. It’s a safe space, so to speak.”
I didn’t bother asking more questions. I didn’t even want to go. I just wanted to lie in bed and watch TV without some asshole forcing himself on me.
But I needed to put these lords and kings in their places, so a party in the middle of the woods was where I’d start.
Twenty-Six
Levin
Vincent is late.” Dom stared out at the setting sun through the trees, looking like he wanted to murder someone. A muscle thrummed along his jaw as he flexed his hands in and out of tight fists.
“He’s with Bianca, right? He’s probably balls deep,” I muttered, leaning against the railing of the old dip house and slurping on my beer.
People were already partying and laughing.
“He’s never late,” Dom continued. “And he wouldn’t do that. She’s being punished for earlier.”
I’d heard about earlier. She was still pissed off about Dom putting her down on all fours. Of course, he then had to take this to a whole other level by fingering her to teach her a lesson. If I knew Bianca like I thought I did, his actions only pissed her off more.
She hadn’t spoken one word to me. She did my trig for me and cleaned my room silently whenever she came over, leaving behind some lavender scent I couldn’t get enough of.
Bianca D’Angelou was quite the woman, but I didn’t trust her further than I could spit, and it had nothing to do with the fact David D’Angelou was her stepdad or that she’d been engaged to Hail. She was up to something. I knew she was.
She was pissed at us, and it was only getting worse. After my attack on her, the cafeteria shit, and now Dom finger fucking her while Vincent watched… we needed to tread carefully. I felt like we were making a bigger enemy of her than we’d intended. Of course, with the lives we led, enemies were a common occurrence.
It didn’t matter. I kept telling myself that over and over. I’d fucking bury her the moment I found out whatever it was she was planning, whether Dom was OK with it or not. The world could use one less D’Angelou in it, even if she was there by a misfortunate incident. Besides, death would eventually come for her. It always did to people who lived our lives. She’d only escape destiny for a moment before it took her, and we couldn’t spend our lives protecting her. Bianca D’Angelou had an expiration date.
It was a morbid as fuck thought, but one could only dance with the devil so long before the devil took his due. A sad fact even I hated thinking about.
“He’ll be here.” I grabbed a bottle of whiskey and dropped my can into the trash. I took a swig, letting it burn its way down my throat.
Dom straightened up and pushed away from the railing. I followed his gaze. Vincent and Bianca had arrived. Her in that red dress made me go momentarily stupid, but I pulled my shit together quickly as Vincent led her over to us.
“Why are you late?” Dom demanded, his eyes raking over Bianca.
I knew that look. He was doing all he could to not lose his shit on them while simultaneously wanting to throw Bianca to the ground and fuck her raw.
“Got sidetracked.” Vincent offered up a lopsided smile as Bianca stared back at Dom, her face expressionless.
Dom glowered but didn’t press the subject. If I had to guess, he didn’t want to demand what had sidetracked them because then he really would lose his cool. Instead, he reached for Bianca.
She stepped into his open arm, and he immediately wound it around her waist.
“Where are we going?” she asked.
Vincent winked at her before Dom led her to his seat which overlooked the party without answering her.
“On your knees,” he said as he released her and sank into the leather.
Her eyes widened as she stared at him, her lips parted. She peered at Vincent then me.
“Are you deaf, D’Angelou? Knees. Now.” I reached out and placed my hands on her slender shoulders and forced her down in front of Dom who surveyed her with cool eyes.
He ran his knuckles along her jaw. “You were late. I don’t entertain tardiness. You’ll remain on your knees right here all night.”
“Fuck you, Dominic.” She rose to her feet and glared down at him. “If I’m being put on my knees, Vincent’s ass better join me because if I didn’t have to wait for him to change his clothes, I’d have been here sooner.”
Dom stood and towered over her. “On your knees, wasp, or I’ll put you there. You belong to me, so I’ll do damn well what I please to you. If you don’t like it, then leave. I’m sure Hail’s brand of punishment is far more enjoyable than mine.”
Dom looked over his shoulder to where Hail stood with Tate and Drake. Stella rubbed against him like a cat in heat.
Bianca followed his stare, her bottom lip wobbling, before she hung her head and dropped to her knees. There was something about seeing her defeated that made my cock ache. I hated it. I didn’t want to feel a damn thing for her, but my fucking dick seemed to have a mind of its own.
The party continued while she stared at Dom’s feet. Vincent offered her a drink that she refused.
“Hey, Dom,” Stella called out, coming up to him. She sneered in Bianca’s direction as Bianca stared at the patio.
“Stella,” Dom said.
“So, I heard you’re still single. True or false?” She let out a giggle.
“Where’d you hear that?” His face remained expressionless as she pushed her chest out.
She was laughable at best and sloppy as fuck at worst. “Everyone. I was thinking maybe you and I could go upstairs.”
“Aren’t you fucking Ivanov?”
“Sometimes,” she said. “But I have something you might want. If you come with me, I can give it to you.” She batted her lashes at him.
He glanced down at Bianca for a moment, a frown on his face, before getting to his feet.
“Watch her,” he said, nodding to Bianca while she glared at him. He followed Stella into the house, leaving me with Bianca since Vincent had disappeared.
I sank onto his seat and took a hit from the joint I had then drank down a mouthful of whiskey. I had no idea what the fuck to say to Bianca as she remained on her knees in front of me.
Deciding this shit was way too awkward, I offered her the joint. “Want some?”
She shook her head,
blonde waves tumbling around her.
“It’ll make this shit easier,” I pressed. “You won’t feel as much. I bet your knees hurt. It’ll only get worse as the night goes on. Dom will stay late just to fuck with you.”
She hesitated before she took the joint from me, drawing in a deep hit. She coughed out the smoke a moment later before taking a second, long hit. She coughed once more, and I handed her the bottle of whiskey.
She drank like it was water, sputtering when she stopped.
“There,” I said, impressed by how much she’d drank. “That’ll help.” I studied her for a moment as she swayed on her knees.
“You can get up if you want.”
She snapped her attention to me and widened her blue eyes.
“I’m not Dominic. I don’t play stupid fucking games just to piss people off if I can help it. You can leave. He did.”
“He’s fucking her, isn’t he? Stella?” She got up and staggered a bit, her eyes glassy.
I stood and steadied her at the waist, feeling her warmth beneath my hands. “Probably.”
She glanced to the house. My hands were still on her narrow waist.
Fucking drop your hands, Seeley. What the fuck?
“Why does it matter?”
She looked back at me. “It doesn’t. I’m just the kings’ whore, right? The one who gave up her virginity, freedom, and sanity all to stay safe. Nothing I do matters to any of you.”
“Fuck, Bianca, not this, OK? I’m not the one you want to try to gain sympathy from. It won’t work. I said you could go, so go.”
“You tried to kill me, Levin.”
“I guess we’re doing this, huh?” I tightened my hands on her waist. “I snapped. You fucked up, and I overreacted. We good now?”
“No.” She frowned up at me. “Why did you get so mad? I admit I was a bitch, but not the sort you should try to strangle to death.”
I sighed. “It doesn’t matter. I admit shit got out of hand. Isn’t that good enough for you?”
“This is hard for me—"
“Cry me a fucking river. You’re beautiful and smart. You have men eating out of your hand daily. You’ll want for nothing in your life because it’ll always be handed to you. Now that you’re a D’Angelou, it’s a fucking certainty. So don’t act like your life is so terrible.”
“You don’t know shit about my life,” she said, leaning into me.
The aroma of alcohol, weed, and that damn lavender engulfed my senses.
“And you don’t know shit about mine. You’re really starting to kill my buzz.”
She shook her head and pulled out of my hold. “Whatever. You don’t care. Why don’t you just take me out into the trees and kill me off? You know you want to.”
“I’m seriously contemplating it,” I muttered, watching as she backed away from me.
“Dominic. Vincent. You. You’re all the same.”
“And you’re drunk and high and need to sit down or go find a friend.”
She laughed bitterly. “Why? So you can beat him up?”
I shrugged. “Maybe. It beats listening to you.”
She stomped her foot and stormed away from me, her blonde hair whipping behind her.
Sighing, I grabbed my whiskey and took another long drink, ready for a long night of baby-fucking-sitting. Or maybe I’d just let her go.
Fuck it. One less thing I’d have to deal with.
Twenty-Seven
Dominic
What do you have for me?” I asked as I closed the bedroom door behind me. The bed was hardly worth sleeping in, but people fucked in this place all the time.
“Information.” Stella licked her lips and twisted her fingers in my black t-shirt. “But you get it after I get what I want.”
“And what’s that?” I let her pull me to the bed.
“I want you to fuck me like you fuck her.”
I stiffened against her before shoving her away. She pouted, her mascara already smeared. I hated that look on a woman.
“I fuck her the way I do because she’s mine,” I said, not bothering to say I’d only fucked her once.
“I could be yours too.” Stella reached for me, but I pushed her hands away.
“You’re Ivanov’s lap dog. You could never be mine.”
“She was the one engaged to him. Not me.” She bit her bottom lip, trying to look sexy, and maybe she was.
But she was nothing compared to the girl waiting outside on her knees for me. Not that Bianca was anything more than a deal I’d made to fuck with Ivanov—at least that was the plan in the beginning—but I had to admit, she was a hell of a lot better in the sack than Stella would ever hope to be.
It took everything in me earlier to not to bend her over my bed and fuck her tight, little pussy raw while she sucked Vincent’s cock. I’d restrained myself, feeling like a complete asshole for how I’d been treating her, something new for me. I typically didn’t give a shit how I dealt with those lower than myself. But something about Bianca had me. I’d said I’d protect her, and I would. But she needed to fall in line. The girl was driving me fucking nuts. If it wasn’t her mouth running and driving me to the edge of my sanity, then it was her mouth looking so kissable. So fuckable. I’d seared the memory of me between her legs away deep into my mind already. The girl was poison, and I had no damn antidote to contain the sickness which was coming over me.
“We both know that’s a bunch of shit. Tell me what you want or get the fuck out,” I said, sneering as I tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.
She let out a huff and pouted at me for a moment before letting out an exaggerated sigh.
“Fine. He wants her back.”
I rolled my eyes. “No shit. Tell me something I don’t know.”
“He’s planning on getting her. If he can’t, he’s going to kill her. You know how he is. Not that I care about the little homewrecking bitch, but you’ve always been good to me, Dominic.” She licked her lips. “Real good. In fact, if you let the little piece of trailer trash go back to Hail, you can have me. You know I’m good for it. I’ll suck the kings’ cocks whenever they want. You won’t need to be gentle with me. And you know how much money my family has.”
She leaned forward and skimmed her lips along my jaw while she rested her hand on my cock over my pants.
I let out a soft chuckle and grabbed her hand. I pushed her onto her back and hovered over her.
“You’re forgetting one thing,” I whispered in her ear as she breathed heavily, her tits against my chest.
“Mm, what?”
“I don’t fucking want you.” I pushed off her and backed away. “Come find me when you have something worth telling me. Other than that, stay the fuck out of my way.”
I left the room, annoyed she thought she had a chance. I went back downstairs, ready to let Bianca up from her knees.
“Where the fuck is she?” I demanded when I got to Levin who’d almost finished his bottle of whiskey.
“I told her to fuck off and go. She off she fucked.” He shrugged. “I really didn’t think she would. I thought since you have her so well trained, she’d stay here. Isn’t that how trained dogs are supposed to be?”
I knew it was a jab at me for making her get on all fours in the cafeteria and eat, but for a guy who claimed to hate her, he sure had his moments of giving a shit.
“If I put her on her knees, you fucking leave her there,” I snapped at him. “Get the fuck up and help me find her.”
Levin rolled his eyes and staggered to his feet.
“Where’s Vincent?” I scanned the crowd as they danced and drank.
It was getting too hard to see because night had fallen. The bonfire raged, casting shadows around the ravine.
“He left before you did. I haven’t seen him since.”
“If fucking Ivanov or his guys got her, your ass is fucked, Seeley,” I swore at him, storming off to find her. It didn’t slip past me the look of worry that flashed across his face.
Fuckin
g prick couldn’t lie to me. He was worried too.
Twenty-Eight
Bianca
I stood on the edge of the party, leaning against a tree. My head swam from all the whiskey and weed. I hadn’t ever been high in my life until now, so the spins and strange giddiness within me made me feel odd.
All I wanted to do was go back to my room and curl up in bed. To hell with it all. I’d been hoping to find someone who knew something about my dad here, and it was a long shot—I knew that. But all I’d found was more trouble than I could currently handle. I was as good as dead. The moment David found out about my split from Hail, that would be it. Lights out, Bianca.
Then there was Dominic. Fucking Dominic. I was still kicking my own ass for thinking he gave a modicum of a shit about me. I guessed a night with a guy treating me like I mattered could mess with a girl’s emotions. That was on me. I should’ve known better. I was nothing but entertainment and an easy target for them to humiliate. Then the bastard had to finger me in front of Vincent as a punishment. Add to it that I was simply too afraid to talk to him about my dad and all I had left was my misery.
My life was a mess. I was a mess. Letting these guys rule me wasn’t who I was. Now, all I wanted, aside from finding my dad, was taking the kings and lords down. Levin was a dickhead. Dominic was an arrogant, panty-soaking prick, and Vincent, well, he was a mixture of the two.
And to top off the shit show of my life, Dominic took Stella, fucking Stella, upstairs.
Fuck him.
“Hey,” a voice called out from behind me.
I’d been expecting to see Aubrey, but she seemed to be MIA or fashionably late.
I peeked over my shoulder to see Fallon approaching from the dark woods, a six pack of beer in his hand. Alone. Thank God. I couldn’t deal with Hail at the moment.
“Hey.”
He came closer and leaned against the other side of the tree, the light from the bonfire barely touching his features.
“You look like you’re the life of the party,” he said, cracking open a can of beer.
