Tease Me, Baby: A Reverse Harem High School Bully Romance (Silver Creek High Book 2)

by Belladona Cunning

  But now? I’m just angry. Well, hurt and angry to be more specific. But with time, the latter will fall away until it’s nothing but ash from a roaring fireplace. When that happens, I’ll leave with the pain of knowing I just wasn’t good enough. That this entire time, maybe it’s Alessandra he wanted to be with. Alessandra was the person he was professing his love for when we were fifteen.

  Now that I think about it, it makes sense. If I remember correctly, the first time he told me he loved me in Deliciously Sweets, she was there. In fact, I can distinctly remember, even through all the nerves and anxiety, him glancing over my shoulder. His had a sense of loss in his eyes, but maybe he was gazing at Alessandra, wanting me to be her.

  After everything we’ve been through, I think that's what hurts the most.

  Wayward tears dance along the surface of my eyes. Agony rattles around inside my chest, the pain squeezing my heart like a vice. I can handle a lot of things, but just the thought of the year we spent together—thinking it was all a lie—is mind-numbing. It’s a pain even worse than what I faced that night in the bathroom.

  It’s a pain that cripples me from the inside out. It unleashes something inside of me too dark to ignore. I can’t allow myself to go down that road. Not now. Not after building myself back up to becoming the person I am today. There is no room in my life for what if’s, and I need to do well to remember that.

  Pushing those thoughts into the back of my mind, I lock them in the box and throw away the key. I pull my shoulders back, raise my chin, and make my way to the outskirts of the school’s property. No use in getting stuck on the past; the past won’t help me with the future. It will only solidify I’m still stuck on Callum, and that is not the case. I refuse to believe my reasoning is within the very vicinity of that asshole.

  Someone calls my name, saving me from the downward spiral. Spinning around, I allow a small smile to morph my features as I see Karma coming up behind me.

  “Hey, I thought you were going to pick me up?” Shit.

  “Dammit, I forgot.”

  “It’s okay.” She shrugs, adjusting her bag. “I saw your car on my way here, so you don’t have to tell me anything.”

  Disgust overshadows the smile. “Can you believe they did that?”

  She seems to think about it for a minute, then turns a smile toward me. “You did it to Callum.”

  Ha. I almost forgot about that. Except, it’s not the same thing. Not even close. “True. But that’s the thing, I wouldn’t be as pissed if he did it, Karma. I know it was one of the queen bitches, or all of them.”

  The only thing I did to Callum’s car was rub my paint covered body all over it. I didn’t key it with vulgar names. They not only poured paint all over my car, they also carved childish pictures of dicks, breasts, and a slew of derogatory names. Bitch. Whore. Slut. Tramp. Pathetic. They busted my windows out, snapped my side mirrors off. It looks like a car someone is taking to the scrap yard, instead of the nice, pre-owned one that didn’t have a thing wrong with it.

  In remembering, my anger starts anew. “I will get even with those cunts.” My hands itch, fingers tightening and releasing. When I find whoever did it, I will bust their face. Or, I’ll probably just go down the line, regardless of their involvement.

  “And I’ll help!” she chirps, making me smile through the haze of fury, but instead of a graceful, easy grin, it’s full of menace and it’s pure evil.

  “You realize what I’m going to do, right?” I retort half-heartedly.

  From the corner of my eye, I see her lips notch up at the corners, then she sighs wistfully. “Yeah. You’re going to kick some ass.”

  As we round the bend that brings up right in front of the school, all thoughts of getting even fly out of my head. Students mill around, coming from the parking lot, but that’s not what catches my attention and makes me pause. It’s the four assholes standing next to the base of the stairs, waiting for something. You know, I have a feeling they’re waiting for me, but I can’t prove it.

  “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

  Turning toward her, I see Karma startle. “They really need to leave you alone, girl. This is getting into some stalker territory.”

  If only she knew the half of it. She knows nothing of what happened this weekend; doesn’t know I woke up in a bed, with Callum’s arms and legs curling around my body. She doesn’t know how nice it felt, or how I reveled in the heat that seeped into me from him. Nor does she know how close I was to giving in. Nor will she. She thinks of me as this strong, independent person, and I refuse to allow her perception of me change because my body craves … craved his.

  Exhaling, I push forward. My eyes drop to my shoes as we climb the stone steps leading into the school. I can feel them watching me, their eyes drilling into the side of my head like lasers, but I don’t give them any attention. I had my say, and now I will do what should have been done since the beginning.

  Maybe soon, they will get the drift I want nothing to do with them. One can hope, right?

  Jerking the door open, I hear someone cough like they’re trying to gain someone’s attention. Amateurs. Instead of giving them what they want, I roll my eyes as Karma and I make our way inside. If they want to talk to me bad enough, they can do a lot better than a half ass throat clearing, not that I’ll give them the time of day, anyway. But it’s still fun to think about.

  The second the door slams behind us, however, is a different story. It instantly goes quiet, a hush settling over the room like someone’s walking into a funeral instead of the main hallway. Everyone looks between Karma and me. We don’t even make it ten feet into the hallway before the whispering begins. Even though they don’t know this, I can hear everything the person closest to me is saying. Or, maybe they can, and they just don’t give a shit. Either way, what I hear makes my blood boil.

  How could they possibly know? Better question—why do they freaking care? It’s not their life. It is of no concern to them. If I want to fuck three, four, five, or even ten guys at a time, then that is my prerogative. Not theirs. I’m very open-minded with my kinks and being with four guys at the same time—yeah, that’s not a big fucking deal. Just means more mouths, hands, tongues, and dicks to satisfy me.

  If they want my opinion, they’re the ones missing out. But even so, that’s not what angers me the most. What infuriates me is the fact they think they have any right to say shit at all. They don’t know me; they don’t know my life.

  “Jessalyn, don’t worry about them. Just make it to first period and calm down.” I know I should do what Karma says, but I can’t think over the roar of blood in my ears.

  Growling softly, I push forward. I will not get into a fight, I will not get into a fight, I will not get into a fight, is a mantra repeating over and over in my mind. I need to remember to keep myself calm, centered—not worry about what others have to say about me. They’re insignificant to the bigger picture.

  Yeah. They’re unimportant. If I keep that in mind, no one will get to me.

  Then, it happens. That one ignorant person who really has no self-preservation at all. My hands are really going to hate me for this.

  CHAPTER 4

  “So, did you fuck them all at once, whore, or take them up the ass one at a time?”

  Throwing the bag off my shoulders, I clench and unclench my hands, stalking toward the girl that should have really kept her mouth shut. Fire flows through my veins, and my eyes narrow on hers. She pushes up from the lockers, eyes widening marginally.

  Oh, she knows she’s fucked. But there’s no use now, because I’m about to knock her teeth down her throat.

  People need to freaking learn you can’t treat someone like this. Jokes and taunts between friends are okay, but if you’re doing it to hurt someone—well, you can only taunt a dog so many times before it bites back.

  When I come within reach, something behind me has her shoulders dropping in relief. She shoots a haughty smile my way, then pretends like there was no fea
r of death two seconds ago. But her dropping her guard doesn’t help her in the slightest. Instead, I rear my fist back and slam it into her face. A cry of disbelief—yes, actual shock—catapults its way from between her lips. Crimson blood drips from her nose and onto the floor as she slams back into the lockers, hands covering her face.

  “You want to say that again?” I roar, getting into her face.

  Her eyes shine with tears. “Oh, someone’s in a foul mood. The whore apparently didn’t get hers this weekend and now she’s grouchy.”

  I launch myself at her, wrapping my fingers around her throat. The moment I squeeze, her mouth gaping open like a fish out of water, strong arms band around my waist and a huge body picks me up off the floor. I can tell who it is the moment a waft of cinnamon hits my nostrils, and that makes me even more feral. I thrash in his arms, not caring when his grip tightens to the point of pain.

  “Get the fuck off me, Callum!” I yell.

  Whatever this little bitch’s name is—she will meet my fists, one knuckle at a time again, and again, until she gets it through her head not to say shit about or toward me. No one will be safe from my wrath in this school, this town—anywhere within the same vicinity of me, really. They’ve pushed, and pushed, and pushed, until I’m at the point now where I’m practically frothing at the mouth to shove them down a set of steps.

  “Little mouse, you need to calm down,” Callum coos in a sugar sweet voice.

  My body responds, even though I want nothing to do with him. I blame it on being without male companionship for the last two months, then getting that tiny taste Friday. My nipples harden under my shirt, pressing against the lacy bra I cupped them with this morning. I ache. Everything south of me is aches to be touched, fondled, fucked. It makes rational thought so much harder.

  I mean, I know I shouldn’t want him, but that doesn’t mean I can stop the way my body swoons at the very idea of a big, strong, virile guy thrusting away between my spread thighs.

  That angers me more, because it’s him bringing this out in me. Ugh! I hate this! I hate all of them!

  “If you don’t want to eat your balls for breakfast, I suggest you put me down.” I growl when the little bitch in front of me smirks, not caring about the blood messing up that perfectly laid foundation of hers.

  She smugly flips her hair over her shoulder, cocking a hip. “Should have known you’d go after Callum first. He is the sexiest of the bunch.” They’re all equally sexy, but I will not tell her that. They’re all equally frustrating, too.

  There’s only one thing I want to do to her, and that’s rearrange the aristocratic nose on her face. Rip out the platinum blonde extensions and make her eat them. Pop those stupid motherfucking implants in her chest, then stand back and watch as her disgusting self sloshes all over the place.

  She may not be the one that wrecked my car, but she poked the bear. Today is not the day and I’m not the one. Not after the weekend I had. Not after yesterday. I’ll be damned.

  None of these preppy-little-rich kids know my life. My family may be rich, in a sense, but at least I’m not spoiled. I know how to treat people if they give the same common courtesy in return. They don’t know the shit I have to go through, nor what I will get from Debra when I get home about my car. I’ll be lucky if I can walk for the rest of the week, and that’s with holding her off.

  They do all of this to make themselves feel more important, and her snooty little attitude just made her number one on my list to receive the beat down of her life.

  “You better be glad he’s holding me right now, cunt!” I screech, twisting and turning in his arms. Kicking out, I clip her in the side before Callum can move away.

  “Stupid bitch!” She looks at me with disgust, then raises a hand to hold her side. I can’t explain the exhilaration inside me when I see her perfect little shirt has a mark on it, nor the mangled blooming bruise coming up under her makeup. A maniacal sense of glee flashes in my eyes.

  Warm breath hits the top of my head. “Carrie, did you forget about this morning?”

  After a few moments, her spiteful eyes leave mine. When they land on his, her face softens. “No, Callum, just wanted to make sure the whore knew her place.”

  “What place is that exactly?” I hear Ellis ask, his voice low and seething. It causes a prickle of fear to race up my spine. Ellis may be a baddie and I didn’t even know it.

  Rolling her eyes, she flips her hand out, brushing him off. “She belongs in the gutter, Ellis.”

  I belong in the gutter? I can vaguely remember this trifling bitch promising our English teacher last year that she would suck him for a passing grade. I laughed my ass off when he turned her down, stating that “girls did not interest him.” Too bad he didn’t consider me a girl, because I took that bastard's cock into the back of my throat three days later. 

  Cackling laughter roars through the hallway, causing Carrie to cringe and her eyes to drag from Ellis.’

  “Seriously?” More booming amusement has Carrie’s resolve dwindling, then worry makes its appearance. “That is fucking hilarious. Just because I let you suck my cock doesn’t even mean you are on the same level.” Quinn says through his mirth.

  The apples of Carrie’s cheeks pink with embarrassment. Within seconds, all the false bravado whooshes out of her body, her gaze falling away from Quinn, to pass over everyone in the hall as murmurs and laughter pick up in volume.

  Since I’m the bitch I am, I call her out on it the only way I know how. Obnoxiously. I’m telling you, it’s the only way to live by.

  “Oh, my god!” I laugh out. “Let me guess—you can run that cocksucker all day long, but you suck dick like a newbie?” My body jostles in Callum’s arms, like he’s trying hard not to laugh but failing miserably. Shit. I cringe in his grip. I almost forgot he was even holding me.

  “Worse than a newbie, Jess. She didn’t even swallow,” I hear Quinn volley.

  I hate that I have to hate them, because any other time, I’d be fist-bumping someone for making that kind of comment.

  I force an expression of faux shock, and if Callum weren’t holding me, I would go as far as to put my hand over my mouth to cover the “outrage.” “You didn’t swallow? But … that’s the best part.” I hear Callum groan in my ear, and I know I’m insane, but it makes my inner bitch smile in delight.

  I can have a little fun, can’t I?

  Of course, I can.

  I literally bled for this shit.

  Her eyes shoot to mine, narrowing into tiny slits. “You would know, bitch!”

  “Happily!” I retort, smiling.

  No use in pretending to be something I’m not. Their taunting and bullying may have aided me to be the way I am now, but I will not feel sorry for the way I turned out. Besides the first time, I find sex invigorating if done right.

  When she sees she’s not getting anywhere, Carrie flips her hair over her shoulder—like a trained professional in one of those shampoo commercials—and storms off down the hallway with her friends trailing behind her. I’m almost one hundred percent sure I am not the only person everyone is talking about now, and I don’t know why, but it feels almost as good as when I smashed her face with my fist.

  People in this school can act the way they want to impress people, but that’s not me. I couldn’t give two shits what people think. The only person I care about is Karma, and since she’s my bitch, all is right in the world.

  I have no need for anything else.

  “You can put me down now.” Tapping his arm lightly, I expect him to do just that, but call me fucking stumped when he continues to hold me to his chest. “Callum?”

  “We need to talk,” is all he says.

  Before I have time to object, he’s already carting me off through the hall, leaving a very confused Karma behind. My body sways back and forth in his arms like a little rag doll. He steps through a set of doors leading to the gym, then comes to a stop in a small alcove. We’re out of sight from prying eyes, without it be
ing too private. So, I guess you can call that a win.

  He puts me down and steps away as Ellis presses forward, giving me my bag. I take it from him and swing it over my shoulder.

  “What do you want?” I already know what this will be about, and honestly, I’ve already made my decision on the subject. They leave me alone and I’ll leave them alone, ignoring each other is the best course of action.

  “About Friday …” he starts, but I cut him off with a swipe of my hand.

  “No need. I don’t want your words; it’s too late for that. The only thing I ever wanted was to clear the air, and now that’s over, I’m done.”

  I go to walk around them, but a hand shoots out and grabs my wrist. “Don’t be like that.” It’s Asher. Quiet, subdued Asher. I should have heeded his warning Friday night when I had the chance. But there’s nothing I can do about it now, so I guess I’ll have to deal.

  Jerking away, my eyes shoot up to his. I disregard the hurt and pain I see in his gaze and move out of reach. “Be like what, Asher? For two years, Callum’s had this idiotic vendetta against me. He—all of you—” I gesture around me, “have been behind every bit of bullying since that night.”

  “H—we—didn’t know.” This time it’s Ellis who speaks up.

  Turning toward him, I see the same upsetting look. “I don’t care. Enough is enough, and I’m over it. I forgave him for what he did that night, but I can’t forgive what’s been done since he came back. I’m sorry, but you are with him, so that makes you all equally culpable.”

  Heat hits my side, but I dare not look. Energy buzzes between us, sparking, hoping to catch fire and allow a free burn. I can handle a lot of things, but I don’t want to see Callum’s face right now if I can help it. I’m still too raw from the party Friday night, and if I give in—which is liable to happen, because of this freaky connection we have between one another—I know I’ll regret it. I need to stick to my guns.