Kings of Quarantine: A Dark High School Bully Romance (Brutal Boys of Everlake Prep Book 1)

by Caroline Peckham

  I headed into the crowd but before I made it three steps, her voice called me back.

  “Fine,” she growled. “If that’s what Georgie wants for her birthday…I’m not going to ruin it.”

  The girls were all smiles again as I turned back to them, though Mila looked wary.

  One of the Unspeakables had fetched the tequila like a good little doggy and I licked my fist before holding it out for them to pour salt over the back of my hand. The salt stuck and I accepted the slice of lemon into the same hand.

  “On your knees then, girls,” I commanded, smirking at Tatum as she slowly sank down in a line with the other girls. Mila didn’t seem particularly excited either but the other two looked like they might just come if they actually got their mouths on me. Which they wouldn’t.

  I took the bottle of tequila in my other hand and told the Unspeakable to go find me a new bottle of Jack as I strode straight up to Tatum, enjoying the view of her down on her knees before me like that.

  I held my fist with the salt and lemon in front of my junk and raised the bottle of tequila to my collar bone as I waited for her to make her move.

  Her blue eyes glittered with heat and I was willing to bet that Tatum Rivers damn near hated me right now. But that was okay. No one liked me besides my closest friends and even they had moments where they didn’t.

  Her gaze fell to the salt stuck on the back of my hand and she released a resigned huff before leaning forward and licking it off.

  “Open wide, baby,” I purred as she looked up at me again and I tipped the tequila straight onto my collar bone.

  The amber liquid rolled over my chest and spilled down my abs before racing towards my navel. A moment before it could hit my pants, Tatum’s mouth met with my flesh.

  I grinned as she pushed up onto her knees, the hot pad of her tongue carving a line straight up the centre of my body as I poured way more than a single shot for her.

  I tossed the bottle to some asshole beside me and he cursed as tequila spilled all over him.

  I fisted my hand in her hair as I guided her further up my chest, her lips caressing my flesh as her hungry tongue sought out every drop of the tequila.

  Fuck.

  I was seriously considering telling all of these fuckers to leave and pushing her head back down again so that I could feel that mouth in more exciting places and my dick strained against my fly at the mere thought of it.

  I dragged her to her feet by her hair as she finished her drink and her tongue dipped into the hollow of my collar bone as she chased the last drop.

  The crowd watching us were chanting her name and cheering so loudly that I could barely hear myself think. But there was definitely one thing on my mind in that moment.

  “We can find somewhere with less witnesses if you wanna get back on your knees,” I breathed, tipping my head down so that only she could hear me and her teeth suddenly sank into my neck.

  I flinched at the shock of it, feeling that bite right down to my dick. She was trying to turn me off, but she’d just done the complete opposite.

  “Not if you were the last man on earth and we really were all going to die tomorrow,” she growled, looking up at me with her eyes flashing while she grinned for the watching assholes.

  I released my hold on her hair and placed my hand on the base of her spine instead, dragging her body flush with mine so that she could feel just how hard I was for her.

  “Alright then, baby, if you’re sure.”

  She gasped as her hips were pressed to mine and that fire in her eyes danced with hunger. I took advantage of her open lips and shoved the lemon between them before she could say anything else.

  I released her suddenly and turned away from the other girls who were still waiting on their knees. The Unspeakable had returned with a shiny new bottle of Jack for me and I snatched it without a word

  “I don’t wanna play anymore,” I announced, turning away as Georgie’s lips popped open and she looked like she might just cry. “But have a great birthday, yeah?”

  I strode straight out of the room without looking back, smirking to myself as I imagined the looks Georgie and Pearl would be giving Tatum right about now. She’d only gone along with that shit to make friends and now look, she had enemies instead. Brilliant.

  I barked a laugh as I stepped outside and strode around the deck as I headed back to shore.

  I pulled my cellphone from my pocket as I walked, ignoring the bite of cold against my bare skin. It was gone eleven, but I was hoping he wouldn’t mind that.

  Kyan:

  Can we meet now? I need the rush.

  I took the path back up towards the main campus, heading for the Cypress Gym as I waited for a reply. Asshole always took his sweet time in getting back to me.

  As I crested the hill, my phone finally pinged and I drew it back out.

  My dirty little secret:

  Your luck’s in, I needed it too and I’m already here.

  Kyan:

  Fuck yes. See you in five.

  I upped my pace as I headed for the gym, my pulse pounding at the thought of what I was about to do and my monster raised its head with interest.

  Sometimes I just felt like I was floating, drifting, existing. And it was a dull fucking way to live. I needed the rush of this to get me through it, to remind me I was alive and to wake me the fuck up.

  I reached the huge building and pushed the doors wide, following the dim corridor past the swimming pool and heading into the training room where the boxing ring was.

  Monroe was finishing up a set against a punching bag in the corner, his gloves up and chest gleaming with sweat as he worked. The dude was a machine, pounding on that thing like it was personally responsible for every shit thing in his life.

  He ignored me as I walked in and I headed to the cupboard in the corner where I kept a spare supply of my clothes for unexpected visits to the gym like this. Monroe had never complained about it so I’d taken that as permission. I placed my bottle of Jack down before dropping my jeans and kicking off my boots as I switched them out for shorts and boxing shoes. The room spun a little as I leaned forward and I snorted a laugh. He’d lose his shit when he realised I was getting close to wasted.

  I picked up a set of gloves and tugged them on as I approached Monroe. That was his one condition for training with me. He wasn’t a pussy, but he couldn’t very well get into bare knuckle brawls with a student so we had to wear the right equipment. This way, our bouts together were real lessons so we weren’t technically breaking any rules. I was just having private training sessions. Though I guessed that the school board might frown on the fact that we split the takings I won from the illegal fights I took part in.

  Monroe finished up his set and turned to me as I approached him.

  “Was the party that bad?” he taunted, giving me that assessing look which said he could see right into my soul. Or at least like he could have if I’d had one.

  “It was alright.” I shrugged. “Just didn’t give me what I needed.”

  I stumbled as I moved onto the mats before him and he paused as he gave me a closer look.

  “You still managed to consume plenty of alcohol by the looks of it,” he growled, dropping his fists like he was about to refuse this fight. But that shit wasn’t gonna fly with me.

  “Yeah, well, maybe that’ll give you a chance to win for once,” I taunted.

  He snorted dismissively and shook his head. “Sleep it off. We can do this in the morning before class if you crawl out of bed in time, or-”

  “No,” I snarled and he cut me a look that warned me to back down, but it wasn’t going to happen. “C’mon, sir. I thought you had dreams of beating the shit out of entitled little pricks like me? You know I deserve it…”

  His jaw tightened and I could see that hatred brimming beneath the surface, looking for an outlet. It wasn’t aimed at me really, but I’d happily make use of what he felt for the douchebags I had classes with. It did seem strange to me that he�
��d taken this job at all when he clearly hated the way we abused the money we’d all been born to, but whenever I’d questioned him on it he’d just brushed me off.

  I lunged at him with a right hook and he ducked aside before slamming his fist into my gut in return.

  My body sang with the flash of pain and a savage grin pulled at my lips.

  “You seriously want to fight me like this?” Monroe asked, but I could tell he didn’t feel that bad about the idea of kicking the shit out of me. His monster needed this too, even if it wasn’t as hungry as mine.

  “Fuck yes,” I replied, throwing all of my strength into my next punch and grinning as I caught him in the ribs. This was the only place where I felt like I really knew myself, deep in the thick of a fight was where I’d been born to live. Throwing punches felt like smashing down walls, receiving them was like breaking chains. It was the only time I was free of anything and everything else and I was wholly, truly living in the moment.

  “Well don’t come crying to me about it in the morning,” he taunted as he finally gave in.

  The next attack he launched was brutal and my sluggish brain made it hard for me to battle back against the moves.

  Pain bled through me again and again as his fists connected with my flesh and I bathed in it, fed on it, drowned in it. Sparks ignited in my brain and every thought in my head was electrified, urgent, angry, real.

  This was where I died and was born again. This was what I lived for. Pain and blood and agony. It was true and it was pure and it was oh so fucking real.

  Mila caught my hand, dragging me up to dance with the rest of the girls and I was soon wedged between hot bodies, the haze of rum making me feel like I was floating on air. Pearl Devickers and Georgie Penfield were giving me the cold hard bitch treatment since Kyan had rejected them. Even despite the fact I’d made it clear to them I thought Kyan Roscoe was a dickwad and an asshole. A dickhole if you will. But the sharpness of lemon, lingering tequila and a demon’s flesh on my tongue reminded me that he was also going to be visiting me in my fantasies in the very near future.

  I was seriously pissed at him for screwing up my hard earned friendship badges with those two girls. I was trying my best to fit into this new life. And even though I kinda judged Pearl and Georgie for being angry at me for something I hadn’t even cared to do, and the fact that Kyan had been the one who ditched out on them, I still wanted them to accept me into the fold. Because I’d never been in any fold before, dammit. And I was determined to make a life here. So now I was gonna have to start from scratch all over again. The music was too loud to attempt it now, but later, I was gonna be their best damn friend.

  Firm hands snared me from Mila’s grip and I was tugged against a hard body, looking up to discover that Blake was my captor. He finished a beer and didn’t even have to ask as someone plucked the empty bottle from his grip and his free hand quickly landed on my waist, dragging me even closer.

  He grinned cheekily at me and I grinned right back as I danced with him, unashamedly grinding against his muscular body as he clutched onto me like the world might fall away if he let go.

  I tipped my head back and he dropped his mouth to my throat, a growl of desire rumbling through him as his lips raked against my heated flesh. I locked my arms around his neck, lust clawing at me and making me fist my fingers in his hair.

  He was all I could think about, his presence entirely absorbing as we danced like no one was watching. I was barely aware of the world around me as I fell into the blissful lack of inhibitions my drinks had offered me. Blake was clearly unaware too as his hands grasped at my hips, my ass. He tugged me firmly against him and I inhaled sharply as I felt the rigid length of him pressing into my hip. Holy fuck he was big. And that was the second boner I’d given a Night Keeper this evening. Now I just needed to find Saint and tame his devil dick so I’d have a hattrick.

  I tip-toed up to find Blake’s mouth and his lips met mine with a hungry passion. I pulled him closer, meeting every stroke of his tongue and tasting all the bad things he wanted to do to me. And I had a list as long as my arm that I wanted to do to him too.

  No, I wasn’t going anywhere. Blake Bowman was the prize catch of the bunch. Hot as hell, sweet as pie. The kind of pie that had a few razor blades hidden in it, but still. Definitely the safest option.

  “Do you wanna go somewhere more private?” I asked against his mouth.

  Shit, I knew this was a bad idea but my libido had taken over. She was screaming, wild and in need of a good lay. And Blake clearly wasn’t looking for anything more than sex. Neither was I. So why not?

  A small voice in the back of my head reminded me that I’d have to see him at school every day after this for the rest of like, the school year. But screw it. We were both adults. It didn’t have to mean anything more than this one night and releasing this burning tension that was mounting between us. Besides, Mila said he’d ghost out on any girl he slept with. So that would solve my problem of staying off the Night Keepers’ radar. By tomorrow, Blake would lose interest and the rest of his friends would no doubt follow suit.

  I smirked at my plan, grasping his shirt in my fist and tugging him through the crowd. Not that I needed to drag him, he was panting like a dog as he hounded after me, his hard on straining against his fly with his need for release.

  His fingers slid between mine as we made it outside and he took the lead, tugging me down the pier and onto the path through the woods, turning left as a wild laugh left my throat.

  “Let’s race,” he said with a smirk and I raised my brows. “The loser goes down on the winner.” Heat spiralled down my spine and rushed right back up again.

  “I don’t know where we’re going,” I laughed, but I kicked off my stilettos all the same because screw it, I loved a challenge.

  His brows lifted in surprise. “You’re not questioning my Ts and Cs?”

  “No golden boy, I’m looking forward to you getting down on your knees for me,” I taunted and he wet his lips with such a lustful expression that it had heat spreading between my thighs.

  Holy shit I have to win.

  “Which way?” I turned away from him, tossing my hair over my shoulder as if this was just another rodeo. But my heart was thumping like mad at the promise that awaited me at the end of this race.

  Blake picked up my stilettos with a smirk. “Just in case you decide to blame your loss on carrying these.”

  I snorted a laugh. “Well you should run barefoot too, golden boy.”

  He chuckled darkly then kicked his fancy-ass boat shoes off and took them into his other hand. I snatched them from him with a grin.

  “In case you blame them on your loss,” I taunted and his eyes skipped with light.

  “Follow the signs for the boys’ accommodation, Hazel House. I’ll be ahead of you anyway, so just follow me,” he said with a serious challenge in his tone.

  “Bullshit!” I sprinted away from him and his dark laughter followed me as he took chase. I raced along the pavement, my bare feet slapping against the cold stone as I ran as fast as I could, the wind spinning around me and making my hair fly everywhere.

  I ran by Saint’s Temple before Blake caught up, powering past me with a seriousness to his expression like he was out on the football pitch playing for the finals. I growled in frustration, pushing myself harder and just managing to keep pace with him. We tore around the lake in the direction of Beech House but he carried on past it while my lungs laboured and my heart screamed in defiance as he pulled ahead.

  Between the alcohol and the competitive side of me which refused to lose, I managed to catch up to him, our arms brushing as we sprinted down the path side by side.

  A sign to the boys dormitories caught my eye and I veered off the path to the right, racing into the trees with victory calling my name. Blake’s footsteps didn’t follow but a crashing in the bushes to my left made me think he must have taken a different route. Fuck!

  My arms cut through the air as they wheeled
back and forth. I was sweating, aching, hurting everywhere as the huge gothic building loomed up ahead. An exact replica of the girls accommodation with its arching windows and huge wooden door, but the plaque beside the door named it Hazel House. I nearly crashed into it as I reached the steps, resting against the wood and buckling forward as I dragged in lungful after lungful of air.

  When I could breathe more steadily again, I lifted my head and hunted for Blake out in the trees with a triumphant grin. “I win!” I called.

  The door I was leaning on opened and I stumbled back as Blake stood there, propping his shoulder against the doorway, his arm lifting as he casually checked his watch.

  “Oh did you arrive at last? I did a few laps of the stairs while I was waiting.”

  “Asshole,” I laughed and he smirked, beckoning me inside.

  I moved closer, but didn’t follow him into the building. I took hold of his waistband and yanked him toward me by it, tossing his shoes on the ground.

  He reached out, pushing a hand into my hair with a serious expression pulling at his features. “As you’ve just met me and didn’t realise I’ve never lost anything in my life, I’ll give you a free pass on the Ts and Cs.”

  “That’s sweet,” I purred, unbuckling his belt and lowering his fly. “But I don’t like to be patronised.”

  I dropped to my knees as I yanked his boxers down to free him and he gasped as I took him into my mouth. His thick length throbbed between my lips and I glided my fist up every hard inch of him as I swirled my tongue around the tip. His hands knotted in my hair as he groaned.

  Light was spilling out of the doorway and my heart thumped madly with the insanity of this. I loved taking risks. I loved driving boys crazy too and I knew how to bring him to the edge before pulling him back again and again.